Siddaramaiah, BJP continue sparring over flood relief

Continuing his attack against the state government over flood relief, Leader of Opposition in Assembly Siddaramaiah alleged rampant leakage in distribution of relief, and dared the Yediyurappa-led government to release a list of beneficiaries compensated by the government.

Such a list, according to the former chief minister, would “expose the inefficiency of the BJP government and incapability of Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa.”

In a series of tweets, he attacked the state government for the clarification issued by Yediyurappa. “Govt has failed to understand the ground reality and failed in their policy implementation. Undivided families have not got enough compensation, there is rampant leakage in distribution (and) deserved beneficiaries have not got relief in many cases. Will Yediyurappa deny this,” he questioned.

Yediyurappa initially estimated losses to the tune of Rs 55,000 crore and then submitted a report to Central government pegging losses at Rs 38,000 crore. Though he sought Rs 35,000 crore from the Central government, Narendra Modi-led Central government sanctioned only Rs 1,200 crore. “This alone shows the quantum of relief work taken up. Wake Up!!” he tweeted.

Meanwhile, the state BJP unit lashed out at Siddaramaiah, accusing him of ‘blatantly lying’ about relief efforts.

“We provided you with data regarding the amount spent on relief and compensation. If only you had taken the time out to meet the DC of Belagavi while you were there, you would have understood what the Yediyurappa government is doing for the flood-affected. But your only intention was to pretend like visiting the people and peddle your lies,” BJP unit tweeted from its official handle.