Shameful to lie to the people of Karnataka: Krishna Byre Gowda challenges Amit Shah’s claim of delaying drought relief petition
Karnataka Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda on Wednesday issued a challenge to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, asking him that if Shah had indeed written to the Election Commission about the Karnataka government delaying applying for drought relief, he must produce the related documents immediately. The Home minister had made the allegation in a rally in Bengaluru on Tuesday, provoking the ire of the Karnataka Congress regime over the contentious issue.
“It is shameful to lie to the people of Karnataka to cover up this injustice. Do Kannadigas exist only to pay taxes and vote for you?” the revenue minister asked. Karnataka, he said, ranked second among the highest tax-paying states. It was shameful to divert its taxes to other states, cheat the state during a drought, and then lie about it, he added.
Gowda gave a timeline of the drought relief petition process, saying the Karnataka government declared drought in the state on September 13, one and a half months earlier than the October 31 deadline. “If you need proof of our submission for drought relief in September, we can provide a copy of the letter from the Secretary of the Central Home Department dated September 27,” he said.
The final recommendation letter for the state drought relief to the Home Minister reached on November 20, he added. “Since then, the recommendation related to the Karnataka drought has been gathering dust in the Home Secretary's room. The BJP government had four months to release drought relief before the announcement of elections,” he
