Centre drought relief like feeding elephant halfpenny-worth buttermilk, DKShi’s jibe at union govt
Bengaluru: “Union government’s drought relief is like feeding elephant halfpenny-worth buttermilk,” said Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President, DK Shivakumar taking jibe at Union Government, which released the drought relief fund of Rs. 3,454 crore for Karnataka on Saturday.
Taking to his official ‘X’ handle, Shivakumar expressed his displeasure against the union government pointing out that out of the 18,172 crores requested by the state government, the union released only Rs. 3,454 crores.
Furthermore, venting his anger at the center, he said “the Congress government is ready to accept any big challenges for the protection of the self-respect of the farmers and the Kannadigas of the state. We are asking for the rights of the Kannadigas and not for alms.”
ALSO READ: CM Siddaramaiah criticises Central Government's drought relief allocation; Challenges Modi's claims
In September last year, the state government had requested the Centre to release Rs. 18,174 crore for drought relief. Despite this request, the central government did not release the funds, leading the state government to approach the Supreme Court. Subsequently, the central government assured the Supreme Court that it would release the drought relief by Monday. Accordingly, the central government has announced the drought relief fund on Saturday.
ಆನೆ ಹೊಟ್ಟೆಗೆ ಅರೆಕಾಸಿನ ಮಜ್ಜಿಗೆಯಂತೆ ರಾಜ್ಯ ಸರ್ಕಾರ ಕೇಳಿದ ₹18,172 ಕೋಟಿ ಬರಪರಿಹಾರದಲ್ಲಿ ಕೇಂದ್ರ ಸರ್ಕಾರ ಕೇವಲ 3,454 ಕೋಟಿ ಬಿಡುಗಡೆ ಮಾಡುವ ಮೂಲಕ ಕನ್ನಡಿಗರು ಹಾಗೂ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ ರೈತರ ಮೇಲಿರುವ ತನ್ನ ದ್ವೇಷವನ್ನು ಮತ್ತೆ ನಿರೂಪಿಸಿದೆ. ರಾಜ್ಯದ ರೈತರು ಹಾಗೂ ಕನ್ನಡಿಗರ ಸ್ವಾಭಿಮಾನದ ರಕ್ಷಣೆಗಾಗಿ ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್ ಸರ್ಕಾರ ಎಷ್ಟೇ ದೊಡ್ಡ… pic.twitter.com/GmIALBp0di
— DK Shivakumar (@DKShivakumar) April 27, 2024
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Uttarakhand Assembly passes censure motion against opposition over women's reservation bill
Dehradun (PTI): The Uttarakhand Assembly passed a censure motion against the Congress and other opposition parties on Tuesday for allegedly blocking the passage of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, in Parliament.
The motion, which expressed the House's formal disapproval of the opposition's conduct, triggered a massive uproar by Congress members, leading to the adjournment of the House sine die.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Subodh Uniyal moved the censure motion, citing the "uncooperative attitude" of opposition parties toward the bill seeking 33 per cent reservation for women in legislative bodies.
Addressing a special daylong session convened specifically to discuss "Nari Samman -- Rights in Democracy", Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said the bill's passage would have benefitted every political party.
Dhami noted that after delimitation, the number of Assembly seats in the hill state would have gone up to 105, with 35 reserved for women. He added that the number of Lok Sabha seats from Uttarakhand would have risen from five to seven or eight.
"The opposition fears that if women from ordinary households enter politics, the shops of dynastic politics run by certain parties will shut down," the chief minister claimed.
He compared the opposition's conduct in Parliament to the assembly in Mahabharat where Draupadi was insulted. Dhami further likened the opposition's behaviour to the "arrogance of Ravan".
The chief minister highlighted his government's initiatives, asserting that Uttarakhand was the first state to implement a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) to protect women's rights. He said the UCC freed Muslim women from practices like "halala", "iddat", polygamy and child marriage.
Leader of Opposition Yashpal Arya questioned the technical feasibility of the bill, calling the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) claims of providing reservation by 2029 "misleading".
He argued that the bill is linked to census and delimitation processes. The Congress leader said the 2026 census would conclude by 2027 and the final data publication would take two more years.
"The delimitation process will take another six years. The actual implementation of this bill is not possible before 2034," Arya said, describing the move as a strategy to protect the BJP's "political ground".
The session also saw high drama outside the Assembly gates, where Congress MLA Virendra Jati staged a protest, demanding the payment of "outstanding" dues to farmers by sugar mills.
Jati arrived at the Assembly's main gate with a tractor-trolley loaded with sugarcane and dumped it on the road. The move brought the traffic to a halt, prompting traffic and security personnel to intervene and clear the area.
Women Congress workers also staged a demonstration against the "anti-people policies" of the state government.
