‘No relief work done in flood-hit North Karnataka, govt yielded to our pressure’: BJP’s R Ashoka

BELAGAVI: Ahead of the BJP’s planned protest against the state government, Opposition leader R Ashoka criticised the Congress-led administration for “failing” to carry out relief work in flood-hit North Karnataka. He said the BJP had sought an adjournment motion in the Assembly to discuss the situation, adding that the government agreed to it “under pressure”, even as the party prepares to stage a demonstration seeking justice for affected farmers.

Speaking to reporters, Ashoka said, “There have been floods in North Karnataka. No relief work has been carried out. We had given a notice for an adjournment motion. The government has yielded to our request. Under pressure, it has agreed to allow a discussion on the situation in North Karnataka. The BJP is protesting, demanding justice for farmers”.

He added that the BJP’s agitation seeks justice for farmers, with leaders including Vijayendra taking part. “I had gone to participate in the protest yesterday. Vijayendra and several other leaders are participating in the agitation. I will place the adjournment motion. After completing that, I will go to the protest. The NDRF has sanctioned ₹6,000 crore in relief. What moral right does the state government have? They said they would provide jobs to everyone. What happened now? “

Earlier, state BJP president B Y Vijayendra slammed the Congress here for not resolving the farmers’ issues. He stated that the Congress government has neglected the issues being faced by the farmers.

“Because of the infighting within the ruling Congress government, issues pertaining to the farmers have been totally neglected by this Congress government. Sugarcane growers have been fighting on the streets for the last two months, but till now, there is no clear solution to this protest. The demand of the maize growers was very simple; they were only demanding that the government open procurement centres. Even this did not happen,” he said.

#WATCH | Belagavi | BJP to protest against the state’s Congress government, Karnataka BJP President BY Vijayendra says, “Because of the infighting within the ruling Congress government, issues pertaining by the farmers have been totally neglected by this Congress government.… pic.twitter.com/7VToPyDuqp

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Vijayendra highlighted that even though the fixed price of Rs 2,400 per quintal was set by the central government, the maize growers had to sell it to the middlemen for Rs 1,500-1,600 due to the unavailability of procurement centres.

“The central government had set a fixed price of Rs 2,400 per quintal. Since there were no procurement centres, the maize farmers were forced to sell their crop to middlemen for Rs 1,500-1,600 per quintal. After the recent floods across the state, there was a huge crop loss, and the farmers were demanding proper compensation, which has not been granted… Taking all these issues, the BJP will be protesting here today…” he added.

The BJP workers are all set to hold a protest against the state government to highlight and address these issues today. (ANI)