CHITRADURGA: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday alleged that BJP is spending thousands of crores of rupees to bring down democratically elected governments in opposition-ruled states, and questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the source of the money.
Addressing the public after inaugurating ‘Praja Dhwani-2’, a convention, and campaigning for Congress candidate BN Chandrappa in the city, he alleged that PM Modi calls himself “Chowkidar” and says he never indulges in corrupt practices, however, the BJP lures opposition MLAs with Rs 25 crore and brings down governments unethically. “It then spends crores of rupees for their re-election. The people of the country have no doubt about the source of money spent on Operation Lotus,” he said.
The BJP has formed governments in Karnataka but never got the people’s mandate. In 2008, BJP had got 110 seats, and in 2018, it got 104 seats, but carried out Operation Lotus and formed the government, he added. Money for Operation Lotus was generated through corrupt practices, he alleged.
Questioning Modi on steps taken on allegations of 40 per cent commission by the Contractors’ Association against former CMs BS Yediyurappa and Basavaraj Bommai, he alleged that Modi was silent. “The Congress government has formed a commission to probe the allegations and submit a report,” he said, and demanded that Modi answer the people of the country on black money.
Drought funds politics
On the release of drought relief funds, Siddaramaiah said the State government had submitted a memorandum to the Union government six months ago to release drought relief to bail out farmers, after which the Central team inspected drought-affected regions of the state and submitted a report. “Our ministers N Cheluvarayaswamy, Krishna Byregowda and Priyank Kharge met Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Home Minister Amit Shah for release of drought relief funds, but it yielded no fruit,” he said.
Claiming that the RSS trains BJP leaders to lie, Siddaramaiah said, “When asked about drought relief funds, Amit Shah said a blatant lie that the state government had applied three months late. I personally met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 19 and Amit Shah on December 20, and requested them to release drought relief funds. Amit Shah assured me that he would hold a meeting on December 23 and ensure the funds were released, but no meeting was convened or funds released. If these dates are false, I am ready to resign immediately.”
Karnataka is facing unprecedented drought this year and more than 220 taluks are bearing the brunt, and 33.25 lakh farmers are suffering, but the Central government has not released funds. The State government released Rs 2,000 as input subsidy to farmers, the CM said.
Launching a tirade against PM Modi, Siddaramaiah said retail inflation has made the lives of the poor, OBCs, farmers, Dalits and minorities difficult. Though the price of crude oil is low, prices of petrol, diesel, LPG, fertilisers, cooking oil, foodgrains and pulses have not reduced. The Congress has understood the plight of the common man and implemented five guarantee schemes. Each family is getting a benefit of Rs 4,000 to 6,000 per month and their purchasing power has increased, he added.