Senior BJP leader B S Yediyurappa on Wednesday mounted pressure on Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai to release funds to compensate farmers’ crop losses and pay wages to labourers without waiting for the Centre to release money.
Yediyurappa said this in the Assembly during a debate on crop losses and other consequences of floods in the state over the last few months.
In particular, Yediyurappa endorsed senior Congress leader R V Deshpande’s point that farmers are in dire straits and that MGNREGA payments are delayed.
“What Desphande said is the ground reality. We had the highest rainfall in 40-50 years. Farmers have come to the streets without being able to harvest crops. I urge the CM, don’t wait for the Centre to give money. Stop development works and prioritise farmers and labourers,” Yediyurappa said.
The former CM said farmers had lost their entire crops. “The farmer has no money to sow again. Whatever [money] the farmer had saved to grow crops is destroyed. The Centre will give money and we will try to get more, but the state government should keep all other work aside and rush to help farmers,” he said.
Earlier, Deshpande demanded a special package from the Centre for Karnataka. “Farmers are in distress. It’s raining even in December. Paddy, vegetables, arecanut... Farmers have suffered losses,” he said, adding that even wage payments under MGNREGA are pending.
State Congress president D K Shivakumar said Yediyurappa’s advice is “politically practical”.
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(Published 16 December 2021, 08:15 IST)
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