K'taka govt stages protest against Centre over drought relief

Bengaluru, April 28 (IANS) Karnataka's Congress government staged a protest on Sunday in front of Mahatma Gandhi's statue on the premises of the Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru, against the Central government over drought relief.

The protest was led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Dy CM and Karnataka Congress President D. K. Shivakumar. AICC General Secretary and Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala, Cabinet Ministers and prominent leaders also took part in the protest.

Shivakumar stated that the "struggle will not end here." The state had given a memorandum over drought in September 2023. From September till date, the state has incurred a further Rs 50,000 crore worth of damages. "No one has got work and the Centre has not given funds under NAREGA. This has to be released," he said.

"The Central government had released over Rs 3,000 crore after being slammed by the Supreme Court. The money should have been released during the crisis. Now, in some time, rains will pour. If guarantees were not there life would have been difficult for people. We have saved them. More than four crore families have been benefited," he maintained.

"We were forced to approach the court as they did not respect the federal structure. We are not begging. We had managed to provide Rs 2,000 for farmers and managed the drinking water crisis. We are asking for our rights," Shivakumar stated.

The Centre released Rs 3,454 crore drought compensation on Saturday. The Karnataka BJP welcomed the gesture of the Central government while the Congress has stated that the amount is meagre compared to the demand of more than Rs 18,000 crores toward crop loss during the drought period.

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