Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar launched a strong critique against the Central government on Monday, blaming it for the problems facing maize growers in the state. Speaking to reporters at the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru ahead of the Legislative session in Belagavi, he also took a direct jab at the Bharatiya Janata Party MPs for their silence on the issue.
"The Centre has to answer to the problems of North Karnataka," Shivakumar asserted. "Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and I have taken some strong decisions pertaining to maize procurement which will burden the state government financially, but the Centre has not spoken a word on the issue and the BJP MPs have not raised their voice. Aren't they concerned about it?"
The Deputy CM specifically targeted Haveri MP and former CM Basavaraj Bommai.
"Bommai has said that the state government has to buy it, but what's Centre's share? Who decides the Minimum Support Price (MSP)? It's they (Centre) who decide MSP. They have not taken any decision yet," Shivakumar alleged, adding that while the state will compensate farmers, the Centre shares responsibility. He challenged Bommai, asking why he had not raised the matter in Parliament or met with the Prime Minister and Agriculture Minister.
Maize growers are currently demanding procurement at ₹3,000 per quintal, an increase of ₹600 over the current MSP of ₹2,400 per quintal. Ahead of the session, the state government announced an increase in maize procurement from 20 quintals per farmer to 50 quintals at the existing MSP of ₹2,400.
Meanwhile, the opposition swiftly attacked the Congress government on various fronts in Belagavi.
R Ashoka, the Opposition Leader in the Karnataka Assembly, charged that the government has become so fiscally weak that it cannot even afford to replace the crest gates of the Tungabhadra dam. "While farmers are committing suicide, the government is in a jolly mood arranging breakfast meetings," added Ashoka.
BY Vijayendra, BJP state president and Shikaripura MLA, emphasised the necessity of discussing the state's "burning issues" during the winter session. He stated that farmers are in distress due to the state government's "bad policies" and claimed the administration had also failed to deliver on its promise of job creation for unemployed youth, noting that weavers were also facing significant challenges.
Shivakumar, however, defended his party's track record on irrigation, claiming that no previous administration has done as much work in the history of Karnataka's irrigation department as the current Congress government.
Also read: Delhi Police summon Shivakumar in National Herald case
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