BJP protests Congress govt's 'failure' in Karnataka flood relief work

Ahead of a planned protest, BJP's R Ashoka slammed the Congress-led Karnataka government for failing to provide relief in flood-hit North Karnataka. The party is demanding justice for farmers, citing neglect and lack of procurement centres.

Ahead of the Bharatiya Janata Party's planned protest against the Karnataka government, Leader of Opposition 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.

Govt Agreed to Discussion 'Under Pressure', Says Ashoka

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? "

State BJP Chief Slams Govt for Neglecting Farmers

Earlier, Karnataka BJP President BY Vijayendra slammed the Congress here for not resolving the farmers' issues.

Speaking to ANI, Vijayendra 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.

Maize Growers 'Forced to Sell to Middlemen'

Vijayendra highlighted that even though the fixed price of Rs 2400 per quintal was set by the central government, the maize growers had to sell it to the middlemen for Rs 1500-1600 due to the unavailability of procurement centres.

"Even the central government had set a fixed price of Rs 2400 per quintal. Since there were no procurement centres, the maize farmers were forced to sell their crop to middlemen for Rs 1500-1600 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 Bhartiya Janata Party workers are all set to hold a protest against the state government to highlight and address these issues today. (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)