Centre has not rejected state's flood report: CM Yediyurappa
Bengaluru, Oct 4: With pressure mounting on the BJP government over the 'delay' in central aid for flood ravaged Karnataka, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Friday said funds are likely to be released in three to four days, as he clarified that the union government has not rejected the report on damage submitted by the state.
His statement came amid media reports that the Centre had sent back the state government's report on flood and rain related damages in Karnataka.
Yediyurappa said two government officials have been summoned by the Prime Minister and Amit Shah to Delhi on the basis of the figures submitted by the state, which were being tallied and verified.
"All our central Ministers have raised the issue in the cabinet. There is a similar situation in several states. In my opinion funds will be released in three to four days,"he said.
Speaking to reporters in Belagavi, he said the state government had not waited for central funds, but released Rs 3,000 crore from the exchequer for relief work.
In the coming days, government would allocate more funds from the budget for repairing roads and bridges, he said.
Yediyurappa said the report sent by the state government was being verified with that of the central study teams to tally certain figures.
"Where is the question of rejecting (it)?" he asked.
Karnataka sent a flood damage estimate of Rs 35,160.81 crore to the union government, reducing it by Rs 3,290 crore after the centre objected to inclusion of private buildings that were affected.
A total of 103 taluks in 22 districts were affected due to the floods in August, in which over 80 people were killed.
Around seven lakh people were shifted to safe areas and thousands of houses were damaged.
BJP governments at the centre and the state have been facing flak from the opposition Congress and JDS over "delay" in grant of central funds despite Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman and Inter-ministerial Central Team visiting the affected region.
The Opposition has accused Modi government of showing its "apathy" towards Karnataka, despite the state sending 25 BJP MPs to the Lok Sabha.
BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal and MP Srinivas Prasad,as also some staunch RSS and BJP supporters, have also expressed strong reservations over delay in release of central funds.
Speaking to reporters, Prasad said the centre had so far not come forward to grant relief.
"...what is happening? there is a limit to our patience.
Keeping public interest in mind we have to speak...our central Ministers from here have to play a pro-active role...let's not test peoples' patience,it will lead to difficulties," he said.
Yatnal opined that at least interim relief should have been given.
The Union Home Minister and Finance Minister had come to the state and seen the situation, he said, adding the final relief amount could be given later after all the calculations and tallying.
Meanwhile, Yeddyurappa's purported statement "Where is the money with the state government? It is empty", drew flak from the opposition Congress and JD(S).
While Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah demanded Yediyurappa's resignation, JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy claimed the exchequer had enough funds and there was no financial difficulty.
"Hon. @CMofKarnataka Shri.@BSYBJP avare, After accepting that your govt has gone bankrupt, you have no moral right to stay in Power even for a single minute.
Please resign & leave the office immediately. Don't punish our people," Siddaramaiah tweeted.
Speaking to reporters, Kumaraswamy said the Chief Minister, who had himself said there was no financial problem, was now stating that the exchequer is empty.
He said he had been Chief Minister for 14 months and felt there was more than enough funds with the exchequer.
Revenue Minister R Ashoka said there was no fund shortage.
"The department is overseeing flood relief and there is no shortage of funds....not sure what exactly the Chief Minister has said," he added.
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Tharoor junks Rijiju's claim that he agreed Cong is 'anti-women'; hails his party
New Delhi (PTI): Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday debunked Union minister Kiren Rijiju's reported claim that the opposition party leader had agreed that the Congress is "anti-women", asserting that at no point did he imply any such thing and that his party has stood for women's rights and reservation.
Reacting to Rijiju's claims, Tharoor stressed that the Congress is totally in favour of women's reservation and prepared to have it implemented right now -- without linking it to delimitation.
In a post on X, the Congress leader said, "I am sorry, but with the greatest respect for Kiren Rijiju, at no point did I say or imply any such thing -- and I have seven witnesses in the photograph who can confirm that!"
"'That was what he meant', our Minister says. No, sir, that is NOT what I meant. 'That Congress can be anti-women...he agreed in a way,' he added. I am sorry but I did NOT agree in any way," Tharoor said.
"The Congress has stood for women's rights and women's reservation under a strong woman president in Sonia Gandhi, initiated the Women's Reservation Bill, passed it in the Rajya Sabha during our tenure and supported it in the Lok Sabha when it was brought by government of India in 2023," he said.
"We are totally in favour of women's reservation and are prepared to have it implemented right now -- without linking it to delimitation," the Thiruvananthapuram MP added.
Rijiju's reported comments came while narrating details of the conversation he had with Tharoor on April 18 after the end of the three-day special sitting of Parliament during which the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill to implement 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures in 2029 and increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816 was defeated in the Lok Sabha.
Tharoor on April 18 had shared a snippet of his conversation with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rijiju after the Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die, and said the BJP leader conceded that “no one could ever call me anti-women”.
Tharoor had said women are by far the better half of the species - 'Humans 2.0' - and deserve representation in Parliament and in every institution.
"Just don’t link their advancement to a mischievous and potentially dangerous Delimitation that could devastate our democracy," he had said on X.
Sharing a picture of some opposition MPs standing with Rijiju in the Lok Sabha, Tharoor had said, "A little post-adjournment gathering of Opposition MPs in the Lok Sabha with our charming Parliamentary Affairs Minister.
"When Kiren Rijiju explained why he and his party were calling the Opposition 'mahila virodhi', it was pointed out to him that no one could ever call me anti-women! He conceded the point…"
While 298 members voted in support of the Bill, 230 MPs voted against it. Out of 528 members who voted, the Bill required 352 votes for a two-thirds majority.
The Bill proposed to increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816 from the current 543 to "operationalise" the women's reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census.
Seats were also to be increased in state and UT assemblies to accommodate 33 per cent reservation for women.
The three-day special sitting was convened from April 16 to 18 to secure Parliament's approval for the Bill.
After the bill was defeated, the Congress had said the "nefarious attempt" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to link their "dangerous delimitation proposals" to women's reservation had been decisively defeated in the Lok Sabha, calling it a win for democracy and the Constitution.
I am sorry, but with the greatest respect for @KirenRijiju, at no point did I say or imply any such thing -- and I have seven witnesses in the photograph who can confirm that!
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) April 28, 2026
"That was what he meant", our Minister says. No, sir, that is NOT what I meant. "That Congress can be… https://t.co/hkUsYgOY7a
