BENGALURU: Severely criticised by the opposition and citizens alike for not being able to get Central funds as part of flood relief, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa met Union Home Minister and BJP President Amit Shah on Sunday.
The ‘preplanned’ visit incidentally came a day after the Election Commission announced bypolls to 15 out of 17 Assembly seats in Karnataka, whose MLAs were disqualified earlier this year. Despite his assertion that the meeting was strictly about seeking Central assistance for flood-ravaged Karnataka, concerns of the disqualified legislators are said to have cropped up during the meeting.
Yediyurappa’s visit to New Delhi was postponed at least twice owing to unavailability of PM Narendra Modi. Given PM Modi’s US visit, Yediyurappa managed to meet only the Union Home Minister. "Lakhs of houses have been destroyed due to floods, but even the first installment of aid hasn’t been released yet. We have informed the Home Minister that the State’s financial position isn’t very good and have requested funds to be released at the earliest to make it convenient to kickstart rehabilitation work," Yediyurappa told reporters in New Delhi.
Even as Yediyurappa insisted that no other issues were raised, concerns voiced by disqualified MLAs after the announcement of bypolls is said to have been brought up.
Deputy CM Dr CN Ashwath Narayana was also part of the meeting, along with Home Minister Basavraj Bommai. The heat that Yediyurappa is facing, from disqualified MLAs who were hopeful of contesting in their respective home turfs, has increased post announcement of bypolls, and Shah was informed of the need to address their concerns.
“We expect funds to be released in a day or two. Despite elections, there will be no restrictions to spend funds in flood-affected regions. Home Minister has assured that he will discuss with PM once he returns,” Yediyurappa said.