Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over India announcing relief assistance of $1 million to Papua New Guinea, following a volcanic eruption that has caused destruction and evacuation of 26,000 people in the island nation.
The chief minister demanded to know why Modi was not exhibiting the same concern towards Karnataka farmers who have suffered huge crop loss owing to drought.
"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?," asked Siddaramaiah in a social media post. "Why do the Kannadigas not deserve a response from the Union BJP government to the letter seeking compensation? This silence raises concerns about the equal treatment of all states and their citizens in the face of adversity," added Siddaramaiah.
Stating that the state government had provided Rs 2,000 to every eligible farmer as a part of the emergency measure, the chief minister noted that the central government has not even convened a preliminary meeting to provide relief to the farmers of the state. Further, Siddaramaiah informed that the state government had sought a relief fund of Rs 18,171 crore from the Centre.
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 crore too. Even if the Centre returns our share of the tax money, it would help alleviate the suffering of our farmers," said Siddaramaiah, who also expressed disappointment over the Centre not responding despite three state ministers visiting Delhi to appeal for the assistance.
