1 week ago
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Although the State was reeling under severe drought, the BJP-led Union government did not release a single rupee towards drought relief to mitigate the sufferings of the people, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has said.
Addressing a huge campaign meeting called Prajadhwani 2 at Tadas in Shiggaon taluk of Haveri district, which comes under Dharwad Lok Sabha Constituency, on Thursday, Mr. Siddaramaiah sought to know what Dharwad MP and Union Minister Pralhad Joshi has done when the people were suffering from drought.
Mr. Siddaramaiah said that step-motherly treatment is being meted out to the State by the Centre. Having suffered losses to the tune of ₹35,000 crore because of crop damage in 48 lakh hectares, the State government sought ₹18,000 crore relief under the guidelines of NDRF in September 2023. However, even after six months, the Centre has not released a single rupee, he claimed.
“Mr. Joshi despite being an MP from the State has not questioned injustice being done to Karnataka by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the last 10 years. In allocations under the 15th Finance Commission also Karnataka has been cheated. Mr. Joshi has not spoken even once on behalf of the people when the Centre meted out injustice to Karnataka in drought relief. Has your vote gained any value after being given to Mr. Joshi? Your vote will get value when you defeat and send Mr. Joshi home,” he said.
Mr. Siddaramaiah called upon the gathering to defeat Mr. Joshi for defending the injustice done to Karnataka by Mr. Modi and for the people who contributed the highest tax revenue to the Centre.
The Chief Mminister also sought to know what the people of Dharwad Lok Sabha constituency, including Hubballi-Dharwad, have received from Mr. Modi who, he said, has written off corporate loans worth ₹16 lakh crore.
Terming Congress candidate Vinod Asuti as a young, decent leader with secular credentials who has concern towards a diverse society, he expressed the confidence that Mr. Asuti will register a victory.
Making an appeal, Mr. Asuti said that the only achievement of the BJP is creating a rift between various religion and ruling the country through divide and rule policy.
He said that the BJP is seeking vote by creating a rift between people of different religion. The BJP which promised jobs for youths and schemes for farmers has done nothing in the last 10 years, he claimed.
The former Minister Vinay Kulkarni said that more than development, what Mr. Joshi has done in the last two decades is hate politics.
Pledge
In the election campaign meeting, Minister Santosh Lad, Mr. Kulkarni, MLA N.H. Konaraddi, Chief Whip of the Congress in the Council Saleem Ahmed and several other local leaders took a pledge to make efforts to get victory for the Congress candidate.
