He will also be meeting the Congress leadership during the visit to discuss preparations for Lok Sabha polls.
Published Dec 18, 2023 | 6:10 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 18, 2023 | 6:10 PM
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, on Monday, 18 December, said that he will be meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Tuesday, to discuss the drought situation and the Union government’s relief to the state.
He will also be meeting the Congress leadership during the visit to discuss preparations for Lok Sabha polls and the appointment of party legislators and workers to key positions in various state-run boards and corporations.
“The Prime Minister has given a date (appointment) tomorrow at 11 am, I will meet him to discuss the drought, so I’m going. Also there is a Working Committee meeting (of Congress), I will be attending it. I will also discuss preparations for the Lok Sabha election,” Siddaramaiah told reporters.
According to the Chief Minister’s tour plan shared with the media, he will be travelling to Delhi on Monday evening and meeting Union ministers on Tuesday, while his return has been kept open.
The Congress government has been critical of the Modi government for allegedly not releasing drought relief to the state, despite its repeated requests and even after the central team of officials visited and conducted inspections in various affected regions.
The government has declared 223 out of 236 taluks as drought-hit.
Stating that he will also be discussing with the Congress high command about appointing party legislators and workers to key positions in various state-run boards and corporations, the Chief Minister said, “We have already discussed and sent a list (to party high command).”
Siddaramaiah had, on 30 November, announced an interim relief of up to ₹2,000 to the state’s drought-hit farmers.
He made the announcement even as the Union government was yet to release the drought relief fund the state has been demanding. Once the central funds were received, they would be disbursed to the farmers after deducting the ₹2,000 the state would be providing as interim relief.
Additionally, the Chief Minister also announced ₹460 crore as compensation for crop failure, besides providing midseason crop insurance to 6.5 lakh farmers.
Expressing anguish over the Narendra Modi-led Union government delaying the release of drought relief funds, Siddaramaiah said that he wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah on 25 November, seeking an appointment to discuss the severe drought in the state.
Karnataka has sought ₹18,171.44 crore to tide over the drought from the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF). The government has declared 223 of the 236 talukas as drought-affected due to a 73 percent deficit in rainfall, the lowest in 122 years.
The Union government has not yet released the state-sought funds, despite Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda and Agriculture Minister N Chaluvarayaswamy meeting Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
