Got raw deal in budget, no point in attending NITI Aayog meeting, says Deputy CM DK Shivakumar
Bengaluru, Jul 24: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Wednesday defended the Congress government's decision to boycott the July 27 meeting of the NITI Aayog, saying the State has got a raw deal in the Union Budget and its interests have not been protected.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Tuesday the decision was taken as a mark of protest against the "neglect" of the state’s demands in the Union Budget.
“What is the point of attending NITI Aayog meeting when it doesn’t have ‘neeti’? Karnataka has got a raw deal in the Union Budget. The State has not got any projects and its interests have not been protected. We have decided to boycott the NITI Aayog meeting and stage a protest instead,” Shivakumar told reporters here.
Siddaramaiah had said that despite his earnest efforts in calling for an all party meeting of MPs in New Delhi to discuss Karnataka's essential needs, the Union Budget has neglected the State's demands.
ALSO READ: K'taka to boycott NITI Aayog meeting chaired by PM, over neglect of state in budget: CM Siddaramaiah
"Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who attended the meeting, has ignored the concerns of the people of Karnataka. We don't feel Kannadigas are heard, and hence there is no point in attending the NITI Aayog meeting," the Chief Minister had said.
Meanwhile, when asked about the BJP's opposition to the proposed Greater Bengaluru Governance (GBA) Bill, Shivakumar said: “They are trying to politicise this. I don’t do anything in a hurry, I have only tabled it. Let them debate on it in detail and then take a decision. Bengaluru is growing in an uncontrolled way and it needs good governance.”
The Karnataka government on Tuesday tabled the proposed Bill which aims at establishing a maximum of ten city corporations in order to decentralise municipal administration.
The bill moots the founding of the GBA with Chief Minister as the ex-officio chairperson, the minister in charge of Bengaluru as vice-chairperson and the chief commissioner of the Greater Bengaluru Authority as member secretary.
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Five killed in fresh violence in Manipur's Jiribam
Imphal/Kolkata (PTI): Five people were killed in fresh violence in Manipur's Jiribam district on Saturday morning, police said.
One person was shot dead in his sleep while four others were killed in subsequent exchange of fire between armed men of two warring communities, a police officer said.
Militants entered the house of the person who lived alone in an isolated location around 5 km from the district headquarters and shot him dead in his sleep, he said.
After the killing, a heavy exchange of fire broke out between armed men of the warring communities in the hills around 7 km from the district headquarters, leading to the deaths of four armed persons, including three hills-based militants, the officer said.
Further details are awaited.
Earlier this week, fresh arson broke out in the district after suspected "village volunteers" burnt down an abandoned three-room house of a retired police officer at Jakuradhor in Borobekra police station said.
Tribal body Indigenous Tribes Advocacy Committee (Pherzawl and Jiribam) denied any involvement in the incident.
The district witnessed fresh violence despite representatives of the Meitei and Hmar communities reaching an agreement to restore normalcy and "prevent incidents of arson and firing" in a meeting held at a CRPF facility in adjoining Assam's Cachar on August 1.
In the meeting moderated by the Jiribam district administration, Assam Rifles and CRPF personnel, and representatives of Hmar, Meitei, Thadou, Paite and Mizo communities of Jiribam district were also present.
The agreement was, however, denounced by several Hmar tribal bodies based outside Jiribam district saying they did not have any knowledge about it.
More than 200 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and adjoining hills-based Kuki-Zo groups since May last year.
Ethnically-diverse Jiribam, which was largely untouched by ethnic violence in Imphal Valley and adjoining hills, erupted in violence after a 59-year-old man belonging to one community was killed allegedly by militants of another community in June this year. Thousands had to leave their homes and relocate to relief camps due to incidents of arson by both sides. A CRPF jawan was also killed in an ambush by militants during patrolling by security forces in mid-July.
