Siddaramaiah holds dharna protesting Centre's 'injustice' in release of drought relief to Karnataka
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, his deputy D K Shivakumar along with several ministers and legislators on Sunday staged a dharna here, alleging injustice done to the state by the union government while releasing the drought relief funds.
Holding 'Chombu', the round water pot symbolising emptiness and deception, the leaders charged the Centre with "cheating" Karnataka by not releasing adequate relief to face acute drought, the kind of which was not witnessed in the past several decades.
They held the symbolic dharna in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue on the premises of "Vidhana Soudha", which houses the Legislature and Secretariat.
The state government has declared 226 out of the total 236 Taluks in Karnataka as drought-hit and said there was a crop loss in 48 lakh hectares of land.
According to Siddaramaiah, against the demand for Rs 18,171 crore for drought relief, the union government ordered release of only Rs 3,454 crore, that too after the state approached the Supreme Court.
The amount was not even a quarter of the state's demand, he noted.
#WATCH | Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah, Deputy CM DK Shivakumar, Congress MP and general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala along with several other leaders stage a protest against the central government over the release of more funds for drought relief, at Mahatma Gandhi Statue in… pic.twitter.com/cppcWpkohm
— ANI (@ANI) April 28, 2024
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BJP central leadership backs Kerala chief Surendran amid Palakkad bypoll loss
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): The national leadership of the BJP on Monday threw its weight behind the Kerala state unit and its chief K Surendran despite a major vote loss in the Palakkad Assembly bypoll, asserting that the party had put up a "good fight" in the recently concluded election.
Rejecting reports that Surendran had expressed a willingness to quit taking moral responsibility for the defeat in Palakkad, considered one of its strongholds in Kerala, the BJP accused the CPI(M)-led LDF and the Congress-led UDF of "spreading rumours."
"Nobody is resigning neither party has sought anybody's resignation. I think this will settle the matter," senior BJP leader and party's in-charge Kerala, Prakash Javadekar, said in a post on 'X'.
Youth Congress state president Rahul Mamkootathil won the Palakkad seat with a margin of over 18,000 votes, even making inroads into BJP stronghold areas, delivering a shock to the saffron party, which had been hoping to win the seat after finishing second in the past few elections.
Adding to the BJP's woes, the Left improved its performance in the seat, narrowing the gap with the party.
"BJP has given a good fight in recently concluded by-elections in Kerala and got a massive mandate in Maharashtra. We will win Palakkad and many more assembly seats in 2026. We are here to make a difference in Kerala politics. People are looking up to BJP," Javadekar said.
The senior leader claimed that more than 15,00,000 voters have become voluntarily members of the BJP, by giving missed call and full information.
"Our membership drive will continue vigorously," Javadekar said.
His statement came amidst reports that the defeat had triggered widespread dissent within the Kerala BJP against Surendran.
Surendran's critics within the party allege that he unilaterally decided to field C Krishnakumar, his preferred candidate, for the Palakkad seat.
Before the candidate's announcement, some senior leaders had publicly advocated for the firebrand party leader Sobha Surendran.
In protest against Krishnakumar's candidature, BJP's popular television face Sandeep G Varier resigned and joined the Congress just ahead of the by-poll, delivering a significant blow to the saffron camp.
In the by-poll, BJP's Krishnakumar secured 39,549 votes (28.63 per cent), while Congress candidate Mamkootathil won with 58,389 votes (42.27 per cent). CPI(M)-backed P Sarin garnered 37,293 votes (27 per cent).
Surendran sought to downplay the setback, stating it is common for the BJP to see reduced votes in Kerala by-elections.
He claimed that many votes for the BJP candidate "Metro Man" E Sreedharan during the 2021 Assembly polls were apolitical, with cross-party support. However, he admitted, "In Palakkad, there was a decrease in the number of votes. We will introspect on it."
