Bengaluru: The Siddaramaiah-led Karnataka government has come under sharp criticism over its decision to acquire land and build homes in Kerala for those affected by the 2023 Wayanad landslides.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the principal opposition in the state, has alleged that the ruling Congress had no money to fund development in Karnataka but was “squandering tax money” on the neighbouring state.
In a post on ‘X’, Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly R. Ashoka said the Siddaramaiah government, which is “struggling to retain its seat due to corruption, is squandering tax money of Kannadigas to please [Congress] high-command leaders…”
He added that while the Karnataka government was rehabilitating landslide-affected individuals in Kerala, it had no money to provide financial relief to farmers suffering on account of crop damage, or compensation to families who lost expectant mothers due to contaminated drugs, or to repair Bengaluru’s pothole-ridden roads.
ಕೇರಳಕ್ಕೆ ಉಪಕಾರಿ; ಕರ್ನಾಟಕಕ್ಕೆ ಮಾರಿ
ಭ್ರಷ್ಟಾಚಾರದ ಕಳಂಕ ಮೆತ್ತಿಕೊಂಡು, ಭಂಡತನದಿಂದ ಖುರ್ಚಿ ಉಳಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳಲು ಹೆಣಗಾಡುತ್ತಿರುವ ಸಿಎಂ @siddaramaiah ನವರ ಸರ್ಕಾರ, ಹೈಕಮಾಂಡ್ ನಾಯಕರನ್ನು ಮೆಚ್ಚಿಸಲು ಕನ್ನಡಿಗರ ತೆರಿಗೆ ಹಣವನ್ನು ಪೋಲು ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿದೆ.
ಅಕಾಲಿಕ ಮಳೆಯಿಂದ ಬೆಳೆ ಹಾನಿಗೊಳಗಾಗಿ ಸಂಕಷ್ಟದಲ್ಲಿರುವ ರೈತತರಿಗೆ ಪರಿಹಾರ… pic.twitter.com/6ac53suDKf
— R. Ashoka (@RAshokaBJP) December 11, 2024
The BJP has said that the Congress government is going out of its way to help landslide-affected families in Wayanad, which borders Karnataka, since Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency is represented by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and earlier Rahul Gandhi.
Ashoka’s post was a reaction to Siddaramaiah’s letter to his counterpart in Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, enquiring as to why there was no response to his offer to build 100 homes for those affected by the landslides.
“It is concerning that no communication has been received from the Government of Kerala regarding the necessary guidelines or directions to implement this project, preventing us from moving forward with the commitment,” Siddaramaiah wrote in the letter shared officially Tuesday.
“To facilitate this initiative, I also wish to convey that my government is ready to purchase the land required for constructing the houses, ensuring swift progress in providing relief to the affected families,” he wrote.
While campaigning for Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in the run-up to the Wayanad Lok Sabha bypoll earlier this year, Karnataka Deputy CM and state Congress chief D.K. Shivakumar also hinted at the possibility of a discussion on the nighttime ban on traffic along a 24.7-km stretch of a national highway in the ecologically sensitive Bandipur Tiger Reserve.
The nearly 25-km stretch that connects Wayanad in Kerala and Chamarajanagar in Karnataka has been a bone of contention between the two southern states. Shivakumar’s suggestion about the 2009 ban gave the Opposition more ammunition to attack the ruling party, which accused the Congress government of placing the Gandhis above state’s interests.
On its part, the Congress defended its decision to offer to build homes for landslide-affected families in Wayanad. “The BJP, during its tenure, didn’t construct even a single house. Helping neighboring states in distress is the spirit of a federal system,” Congress MLC M. Nagaraju Yadav told India Today Wednesday.
Though both are part of the INDIA alliance, the Congress and CPI(M) are on opposite sides of the political aisle in Kerala.
In February, the Siddaramaiah-led government rushed in to give Rs 15 lakh compensation to the family of a man from Pulpally in Kerala’s Wayanad trampled to death by an ‘elephant from Karnataka’. At the time, Rahul was the MP from Wayanad and it was alleged that the move was at his instance.
Reacting to Siddaramaiah’s letter to Vijayan, Karnataka BJP president B.Y. Vijayendra wrote on ‘X’ Tuesday, “Karnataka’s roads have more potholes than tar, investments are slipping to Telangana, North Karnataka remains neglected, and unemployment is rising. Yet, CM @siddaramaiah, who earlier promised to build houses in Kerala, now wants to double down by buying land to facilitate this? Sir, are you working for the people of Karnataka or for the Gandhi family?”
Karnataka’s roads have more potholes than tar, investments are slipping to Telangana, North Karnataka remains neglected, and unemployment is rising. Yet, CM @siddaramaiah, who earlier promised to build houses in Kerala, now wants to double down by buying land to facilitate this?… pic.twitter.com/5kz747kb5V
— Vijayendra Yediyurappa (@BYVijayendra) December 10, 2024
Having set aside nearly a quarter of its entire state budget to fund the five guarantees it made in the run-up to the 2023 assembly elections, the Congress has been accused of cutting corners to bankroll its poll promises.
The lack of funds for infrastructure projects has also stirred up some disquiet within the Congress ranks with some legislators openly calling for withdrawal of the guarantees. In the last week of November, Karnataka Congress MLA H.R. Gaviyappa asked the CM to roll back some guarantees.
“Because of guarantee schemes, there is difficulty in providing houses to the poor. We are also asking the chief minister to drop two or three schemes, which are not needed. Let’s see what the chief minister says,” Gaviyappa had said at a public meeting in Vijayanagara.
