BJP slams Karnataka govt for paying compensation to Kerala man killed by elephant
Bengaluru (PTI): The BJP on Monday accused the Karnataka government of "illegally allocating" Rs 15 lakh to the kin of a Kerala man who was killed by a tuskless elephant that was captured in Karnataka but later strayed into Wayanad in the neighbouring state.
With Congress leader Rahul Gandhi being the MP from Wayanad, the BJP's Karnataka unit president B Y Vijayendra alleged that the Congress government in Karnataka was misusing taxpayers' money "to curry favour" with the former party president.
It is utterly disgraceful, he said.
"Illegally allocating state fund of Rs 15 lakh to a deceased individual from Rahul Gandhi's Wayanad constituency, falsely blaming an elephant from Karnataka, is an appalling betrayal," Vijayendra, an MLA from Shikaripura, said on social media.
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He said that amid crippling drought and hundreds of farmers committing suicides across Karnataka, the Congress government "shamelessly prioritised pleasing Rahul Gandhi over addressing the state's urgent needs".
"CM Siddaramaiah and his cohorts must be held accountable for unethically looting Karnataka taxpayers' money and state treasury to cater to the Congress High Command's greed," the BJP state chief said.
Amidst the Congress party's struggle for survival, its ministers are sparing no effort in plundering every last rupee of the state's coffers, Vijayendra alleged.
On Sunday, Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre said the state government has agreed to pay compensation to the Kerala man on par with the indemnity paid to the people of Karnataka killed by an elephant.
The tuskless male elephant was captured in Belur taluk of Hassan district on November 30, 2023, and translocated to the Bandipur Forest area. After more than two months, it was found that it had strayed into Wayanad district of Kerala.
On February 10, a man was killed by the elephant in the Wayanad district of Kerala. Following this, elected representatives and the Government of Kerala had requested the Karnataka government to be largehearted and pay compensation for that case, the minister's office said.
The statement said Khandre took up the matter of payment of compensation with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday.
"The chief minister agreed to pay compensation to the family of Ajeesh on par with any person of Karnataka," the statement read.
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Pakistan reports two more polio cases; Total tally now 52
ISLAMABAD: At least two more cases of poliovirus were reported in Pakistan, taking the number of infections to 52 so far this year, a report said on Friday.
“The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health has confirmed the detection of two more wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases in Pakistan," an official statement said.
The fresh infections — a boy and a girl — were reported from the Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
“Genetic sequencing of the samples collected from the children is underway," the statement read. Dera Ismail Khan, one of the seven polio-endemic districts of southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has reported five polio cases so far this year.
Of the 52 cases in the country this year, 24 are from Balochistan, 13 from Sindh, 13 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
There is no cure for polio. Only multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five can keep them protected.
