Bengaluru, Apr 23 (UNI) Ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah's scheduled visit to the city, Randeep Singh Surjewala, a prominent Congress leader, launched a scathing attack on Narendra Modi government, accusing it of engaging in vendetta politics against Karnataka by withholding crucial drought relief funds.
Taking an aggressive stance, Surjewala targeted Amit Shah directly, questioning the Union Home Minister's right to step into Karnataka without first releasing Rs 18,172 crore earmarked for drought relief.
Addressing the media, Surjewala exclaimed, "Huge injustice is being done to Karnataka. The Modi government's vendetta politics against Karnataka must end. Amit Shah has no right to come to Karnataka without releasing our money."
Congress leaders, including Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, and Surjewala, staged a protest at Vidhana Soudha on Tuesday.
Siddaramaiah pointed fingers at Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, blaming them for not releasing the necessary funds for drought relief.
He stated, "Farmers are suffering due to the drought. We have disbursed Rs 650 crores to our farmers. Nirmala Sitharaman and Narendra Modi are the reasons why Karnataka has not been given relief."
Adding to the chorus of criticism, Karnataka Congress MLA Rizwan Arshad highlighted the severity of the drought conditions in the state, with 95% of Karnataka facing severe drought for the last 10 months. Arshad questioned the necessity of approaching the Supreme Court for securing compensation from the central government.
"We had to go to the Supreme Court because PM Modi did not provide us with compensation. Why are we discriminated against? They cannot keep discriminating against south Indian states," Arshad remarked.
In response to the mounting pressure, Arshad mentioned that the Modi government has agreed to release the compensation this week following the Supreme Court's direction.
Amit Shah is scheduled to campaign in the Bengaluru South constituency on Tuesday. The BJP's Tejasvi Surya is contesting against Soumya Reddy of the Congress in this constituency. The political atmosphere in Bengaluru remains charged as the state and central governments continue to lock horns over the drought relief issue.
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