Siddaramaiah govt lacks ''sensitivity'': LoP Ashoka

Belagavi (Karnataka), Dec 9 (PTI) Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, R Ashoka, on Tuesday said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has not "walked the talk" on issues concerning North Karnataka and farmers, describing the government’s approach as lacking "sensitivity".

He also said the state ranks second in the country in farmer suicides.

Initiating the debate on North Karnataka and farmers’ issues, Ashoka said, "Chief Minister Siddaramaiah repeatedly claims that his is a government that walks the talk. On May 8, 2020, he said prices should be fixed for farmers’ produce based on production costs, and that a revolving fund of Rs 5,000 crore should be established for farmers. The CM has not implemented this in the last two and a half years." Referring to the election manifesto, Ashoka added, "Siddaramaiah had said a fund of Rs 5,000 crore would be set up for natural disaster management. Even though floods affected many parts of North Karnataka, the fund was not provided." "He had also promised loan repayment postponements, an increase in milk incentives to Rs 7, and Rs 500 crore for grape growers in North Karnataka. But the government has not stood by the farmers,” he said, adding the administration hasn't kept its promises.

Ashoka further pointed out that while Congress leaders claim that sugarcane prices are fixed by the central government, a Supreme Court order requires the state government to provide an additional amount.

He added that state officials, including Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, met the Prime Minister at Mangaluru airport as a formality, "as though to prove the request had been submitted." Highlighting the scale of the issue, Ashoka said there are 86.81 lakh farmer families in the state, representing 70 per cent of the population.

"The chief minister repeatedly claims that Rs 2,000 is given monthly under the Gruha Lakshmi scheme to the woman head of every family. But the money is being provided by increasing the price of liquor," he alleged.

He said that in the past two and a half years, 2,422 farmers have committed suicide, with Karnataka accounting for 22.5 per cent of the total cases in the country, ranking second.

"Tamil Nadu accounts for 5.9 per cent and Andhra Pradesh 8 per cent. This is the government’s scorecard," Ashoka added.

The government has not yet come out of the "illusion" of guarantee schemes, the LoP said, adding that relief to farmers was postponed because the treasury was depleted due to these schemes.

Some heated exchanges took place between the opposition and treasury benches during Ashoka’s speech, with Ministers Krishna Byre Gowda and Priyank Kharge attempting to refute his claims. PTI KSU SSK ADB