BENGALURU: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday alleged that the Congress government in Karnataka sent a memorandum late to the Centre for funds to tackle drought.
Addressing BJP workers at Shakti Kendra Pramukh Sammelan here, Shah said when Karnataka is reeling under severe drought, people in the government caused a delay in submitting the memorandum by three months. The memorandum is now before the Election Commission, he said, denying the allegation that the Centre refused to release funds to the state.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda hit back at Shah alleging that he lied blatantly that the state government caused a delay in submitting the memorandum. They claimed that the state submitted three memorandums to the Centre, but no relief came.
Shah said Congress leaders in the state are now politicising the issue in view of Lok Sabha elections. The party in power seems not to be keen on resolving the problems of the people. It is not working for the development of the state. “In Karnataka, the CM is only keen on saving his chair from the DCM,” he added.
Siddaramaiah, who took to ‘X’, reminded Shah of the efforts made by his government to get funds from the Centre.
The revenue minister, who addressed a press conference, alleged Shah’s statement is politically motivated. He reminded Shah that he along with Agriculture Minister N Chaluvarayaswamy even met Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman on November 24, 2023, and held discussions with her. Though she responded positively, the state did not get funds.
Later, he and the CM met the PM and submitted a proposal for Rs 18,177.44 crore. “But Shah lied that the state delayed in submitting the memorandum. It was only then the state approached the SC, seeking its direction to the Centre to release funds,” Byre Gowda said.
