Bengaluru: Stung by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "10 per cent commission" jibe against his government, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said Modi was, in fact, a facilitator of corruption.

 "You made common people stand in queues to deposit their money in the banks (referring to the note ban in 2016) and then let Nirav Modi (billionaire jeweller accused in Punjab National Bank's fraud case) run away with Rs 12,000 crore of people's money," Siddaramaiah tweeted.

 Modi on Monday raked up the commission charge and urged people to elect the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the upcoming state Assembly poll to have a "government with a mission".

 "I received many calls from people after I said at a rally in Bengaluru recently (February 4) that a 10 per cent commission government was ruling the state. They said the commission was more than (10 per cent). You decide if you want a commission or a mission government," Modi had said addressing a public meeting in Mysuru.

 Accusing the ruling party of ruining the southern state, Modi said welfare of the people was not a priority for the Siddaramaiah government during its five-year rule.

 Lashing out at the Prime Minister for his "disparaging" comments, the Congress leader hailing from Mysuru district said: "Someone from Mysuru would have never allowed a fugitive run away".

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Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre on Tuesday said a 7-km railway barricade has been approved for the Madikeri division and 20 km for the Nagarhole division in 2025–26 to curb human-elephant conflict in the regions.

Responding to a proposal raised by BJP MLC Suja Kushalappa during Zero Hour in the Legislative Council, he assured that work on the proposed railway barricades would begin soon.

Citing the death of a 17-year-old girl in an elephant attack on February 28 and that of a tribal woman on March 9 in the state, the minister said these deaths caused by elephant attacks were "extremely painful".

"Human life is very precious and cannot be valued in monetary terms. The Forest Department is taking all measures to prevent human-wildlife conflict."

The minister further said steps such as maintenance of elephant-proof trenches and solar-powered fencing were being undertaken, while two elephant task forces were currently in operation.

Orders have also been issued by the Chief Wildlife Warden to capture two rogue elephants.

In both cases, Rs 5 lakh compensation has already been disbursed to the families of the deceased, and the remaining Rs 15 lakh each will be provided within a week, he added.

Khandre said the government was making sincere efforts to find a permanent solution to the human–elephant conflict.