Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah speaking to mediapersons at Mysuru airport on November 22, 2024.
| Photo Credit: MA Sriram
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of ‘protecting’ industrialist Gautam Adani who has been indicted by a US court on charges of fraud and bribery.
Speaking to mediapersons in Mysuru on on November 22, Mr. Siddaramaiah said though an arrest warrant has been issued against Adani, the Centre headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had taken no action and is protecting him.
Mr. Siddaramaiah said that it was India’s reputation which has been sullied in the world, and not only is the BJP supportive of Adani but is defending his acts, and this cannot be done without the approval of Prime Minister Modi.
BJP MPs flayed on NABARD issue
Turning his guns on the BJP MPs from Karnataka Mr. Siddaramaiah said though the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has slashed the funding for the State by 58%, none of them (BJP MPs) have spoken out against this reduction nor discussed the issue with the Centre.
Karnataka’s allocation was ₹5,600 crore during 2023-24 but has been reduced by 58%, to ₹2,340 crore for 2024-25. He added that NABARD had slashed funding across India in an irrational manner.
He expressed outrage that not only have the BJP MPs not spoken out against it, but former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy is also silent on the issue.
’He claims to be a son of the soil, but is silent. Why has the matter not been taken up with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman who is a Rajya Sabha MP from Karnataka,” questioned Mr. Siddaramaiah.
Mr. Siddaramaiah said that let alone question the NABARD’s decision, BJP leader Pralhad Joshi has defended it. ‘’I will leave it to the public to decide who is anti-poor and anti-farmer,” he added.
Mr. Siddaramaiah said that he has apprised Ms. Sitharaman of the fallout of the NABARD’s decision to slash funding as it will hurt farmers. ‘’Ms. Sitharaman said that she will take up the issue with the NABARD, but the delay in discussing the subject is inexplicable,” he added.
The Chief Minister said BJP has time and again demonstrated that it is anti-poor, and this came to the fore when the Manmohan Singh government introduced the Food Security Act.
‘In Karnataka, the Congress was distributing 7 kg of rice to the poor. On coming to power, the BJP reduced it to 5 kg. The Congress increased it to 10 kg in 2023. Now, the BJP is criticising us on the BPL card issue though they have no right to question us,” said the CM.
He questioned whether people paying income tax or government employees should be issued BPL cards at all. “The norms were introduced when BJP was in power, but now they are questioning the Congress,” Mr. Siddaramaiah added.
Published – November 22, 2024 02:58 pm IST