BENGALURU: Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly and senior BJP leader R Ashoka on Thursday said the government must explain the steps taken to help farmers in drought-hit areas.
He urged Chief Minister DK Shivakumar to announce a waiver of farmers’ loans up to Rs 1 lakh.
Drought should have been declared in 175 taluks, but the number of taluks was reduced to 101 due to a shortage of funds, and only Rs 1 crore has been given per taluk, the Padmanabhanagar MLA said.
The BJP leader said two months have passed since the Chief Minister spoke about loan waiver, but it is still not done. Measures are required to prevent migration from rural areas.
If the VB-GRAM-G scheme is implemented properly, it can prevent migration, he said.
The demand for Rs 50,000 per acre compensation was not considered; there is no information on how much fodder has been stocked, what has been done for drinking water, or for borewells. Drought has been declared merely as a formality because farmers are protesting, he said.
He said if Minister B Nagendra, who is facing corruption charges, does not resign within a week BJP will lay siege to the CM’s house.
He said they have submitted a petition to Governor seeking permission for CBI and ED investigation. “When Dalit money was looted, they did not remember they were Dalits; now they seek caste protection.
Nagendra was taken back into the Cabinet to protect the party’s central leaders,” he alleged.