Opposition refuses to be part of the all-party delegation to Centre over drought relief

The Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (Secular) (JD(S)) have refused to be part of the proposed all-party delegation planned by the Karnataka government to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to seek Central assistance for drought relief.

On Sunday, Union Minister and JD(S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy and Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly R. Ashok said that they would not be part of the proposed delegation.

Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar is leaving for Delhi on Monday to take part in the Congress Working Committee meeting scheduled for Tuesday. The Chief Minister had earlier indicated that the government is seeking a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and an all-party delegation from Karnataka.

Mr. Kumaraswamy said that the State representatives could go on their own, and that there was no need for an all-party delegation. The Chief Minister, at the end of the four-day special session convened to discuss the drought, farm distress, and the Kasturangan Committee report, announced that an all-party delegation would be taken to the Prime Minister to seek Central assistance in drought mitigation efforts.

“What will you do by taking an all-party delegation to the Centre? It will add to the expenditure of the exchequer. Spending on flights and stay in star-category hotels is an unnecessary expenditure. Could someone not go and speak to the Centre?” the Union Minister told presspersons here on Sunday. Stating that he would not say that the State has gone bankrupt, he said: “It is you who has been sitting on an empty treasury.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Ashok said that they would not go to the Centre to seek funds for drought relief. “We are ready to meet the Union Minister with respect to the Kasturirangan report. We will not be part of the drought delegation,” he said. He accused the Congress government of lacking commitment to help the drought-hit farmers in Karnataka.

Central team to arrive for drought assessment

After Karnataka’s first memorandum to the Centre regarding the drought situation, estimating a loss of around ₹18,000 crores and seeking about ₹3,800 crores as assistance from the Centre, a team from the Union government will arrive in Karnataka for a drought assessment on October 3.

The team will be visiting the drought-affected areas for three days from October 4 and will be holding discussions with Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh on October 7.

Three Inter-Ministerial Central Teams will assess crop damage and geographic conditions. While one team will assess Tumakuru, Chitradurga, Davangere and Vijayanagara districts, the second team will visit Hassan, Mysuru and Chamarajanagar (it may include Mandya). The third team will visit Yadgir, Bagalkote, Raichur and Koppal districts.

While 177 taluks out of 240 taluks in the State have been declared drought-affected, ground-truthing exercises are being undertaken in another 50 taluks. Deputy Chief Minister and Revenue Minister G. Parameshwara has said that over 200 taluks could eventually be declared drought-affected, with an estimated loss of about ₹40,000 crores.