BJP tears into Congress as CM Siddaramaiah takes private jet amid drought-like situation in Karnataka
The Bharatiya Janata Party slammed the Karnataka government, accusing them of loot and misgovernance as CM Siddaramaiah and his minister, BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan, flew in a luxurious private jet amid a drought-like situation in the state.
The allegations against the Congress CM surfaced after a circulated video depicted Siddaramaiah and minister Khan posing aboard the aircraft as they travelled to Delhi to seek funds for drought relief.
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In the video, initially posted by BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan, the minister expressed joy over travelling with CM Siddaramaiah, departing for Delhi to collect funds for drought-stricken Karnataka. In his post, he wrote, “Happy moments of travelling from Delhi to Bangalore with our proud leader, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.”
In response, BJP leader Malviya called it ironic, pointing to the contradiction between Congress’s pretence of crowdfunding during the INDIA bloc meeting and Zameer Ahmed Khan flaunting pictures with CM Siddaramaiah in a private jet.
On the one hand, Congress is pretending to crowdfund and didn’t even serve samosas in I.N.D.I Alliance meeting, on the other, Zameer Ahmed Khan, Cabinet Minister for Housing, Waqf and Minority Affairs in Karnataka Govt, is flaunting his pictures with CM Siddaramaiah in a private… pic.twitter.com/SkrLB5OdjI
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) December 22, 2023
“On one hand, Congress is pretending to crowdfund and didn’t even serve samosas in I.N.D.I.A Alliance meeting, on the other, Zameer Ahmed Khan, Cabinet Minister for Housing, Waqf, and Minority Affairs in Karnataka Govt, is flaunting his pictures with CM Siddaramaiah in a private jet. They apparently had ‘happy moments’ traveling together to Delhi, to seek funds for drought relief. Irony died a million times. Karnataka is reeling under misgovernance but Congress’s loot must continue,” he said, highlighting the irony.
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Additionally, Karnataka BJP leader CT Ravi condemned the government, highlighting the misuse of funds for the Chief Minister’s opulent travel while drought-stricken farmers awaited support.
“Karnataka government does not have funds to pay our farmers affected by drought. Neither does it have funds for development or to fulfill its guarantees. But it has all the funds to fly the chief minister, his political secretary, and housing minister in a luxurious private jet. And that too to seek funds for drought relief from the central government. And CM Siddaramaiah boasts that he is a ‘Samaajavaadi’. But Kannadigas can only see a ‘Majaavaadi’ here!” the BJP leader wrote.
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BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla also took a jab at the Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, accusing the Congress of maintaining double standards.
“Karnataka is reeling under the drought and the Chief Minister of Karnataka is asking the Centre for the relief fund. Meanwhile, the Deputy Chief Minister (D. K. Shivakumar) of the state tells his own MLAs and people that there is no money left for development because the money has been splurged on the so-called promises made by the Congress party, which they are unable to fulfil” Shehzad Poonawalla said.
Responding to the allegations, while addressing the press, Siddaramaiah hit back at the BJP government, defending his government. He called out BJP MPs who are now pointing fingers at his travel, asking them to first answer themselves if the PM travels alone in their jet, “In what flight does PM travel?” he said.
Amidst this, as the Congress commemorated its 138th foundation day, it launched the ‘Donate for Desh’ crowdfunding campaign, aiming to “empower the party to create an India rich in equal resource distribution and opportunities.”
Over the past four years, Karnataka has mainly grappled with floods during the monsoon seasons. However, this year’s deficient southwest monsoon resulted in an impending severe drought that threatened the Kharif crop.
Recent reports of rainfall shortage prompted the state’s BJP unit to deploy 17 teams to study the drought’s impact. Nevertheless, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah dismissed these efforts as futile.
Earlier, Siddaramaiah accused the Centre of delaying compensation for crop losses, proposing a Rs 2,000 payment to drought-affected farmers. However, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman rebutted, asserting no pending liabilities from the Centre’s end. Karnataka’s government has declared 223 out of 236 taluks in the state as drought-hit, reflecting the severity of the crisis faced by the state’s agriculture and populace.