NEW DELHI: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi why the Centre is unconcerned for the farmers of Karnataka.
In a post on X on Thursday, the Karnataka CM posted some media reports citing $1 million aid to Papua New Guinea after a volcanic eruption and a $250 million Line of Credit for Kenya to upgrade its agriculture by India and questioned the Centre why the Kannadigas do not deserve a response from the Union BJP government to their letter seeking compensation.
We don't have any opposition to @narendramodi extending help to other countries; he is merely upholding a legacy of India's aid diplomacy & soft power diplomacy, a practice that dates back to the pre-independence era and has continued ever since.
Our question, however, is this:… pic.twitter.com/m8Z2PHrcwr
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) December 7, 2023
“We don’t have any opposition to @narendramodi extending help to other countries; he is merely upholding a legacy of India’s aid diplomacy & soft power diplomacy, a practice that dates back to the pre-independence era and has continued ever since. Our question, however, is this: Why does Modi not exhibit the same level of concern for our farmers, who have suffered crop losses due to drought?” he said.
He further said that the Prime Minister’s silence on the drought situation in Karnataka raises concern that not all states and their citizens are treated equally in the face of adversity. “Why do the Kannadigas not deserve a response from the Union BJP government to their letter seeking compensation? This silence raises concerns about the equal treatment of all states and their citizens in the face of adversity,” Siddaramaiah added.
He also alleged that the central government has not yet convened a preliminary meeting to provide relief to the farmers of the state, emergency measures have been taken from the state, releasing crop relief funds of up to Rs 2,000 each to the eligible farmers in the first phase.
“Even though three ministers from the state went to Delhi, no positive response was obtained. A letter has been written to the Centre requesting financial assistance of Rs. 18,171 crores for relief. Even if the Centre returns our share of the tax money, it would help alleviate the suffering of our farmers”, he added.
He also claimed that the Centre has not yet responded to the letter written by the state government in this regard. “There has been crop loss in an area of 48.19 lakh hectares. We had asked the Centre for a crop loss compensation of Rs. 4,663 crores. We have also appealed to the central ministers. I had written a letter requesting a direct meeting with the Union Ministers of Agriculture and Housing, but they have not given us time yet,” he said.
A total of 195 out of 227 taluks in Karnataka are facing a drought-like situation, the state government claimed in September. (ANI)