Siddaramaiah slams Karnataka Minister for claiming State has no funds

The Senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Saturday, October 26, slammed the Karnataka Cabinet Minister CC Patil for claiming that the state does not have enough funds to help the flood victims.

Speaking to the media, the former Chief Minister of Karnataka said, "It shows their (Karnataka government) negligence. Every month the State government gets tax. The state gets its share of taxes. They get several kinds of taxes. If he is saying that the treasury is empty it reflects his knowledge about the financial issues. "They do not have any will to help people amidst hardships. This government has completely failed to provide relief to the victims".

Notably, after being criticised by residents for not visiting flood-affected areas in Gadag district, Cabinet Minister CC Patil on Wednesday, October 23, visited Sevala Nagar village and talked to people about the problems they face. 

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'The government doesn't have money'

Patil, also the minister in-charge of Gadag district, told the locals that the state government is spending a huge amount in the flood-affected areas despite lack of funds.

"You are aware of how much money the government is spending in flood-affected areas. You even know that the government doesn't have money. We are also not getting our MLA funds. We will see later if you want to leave this village and want to shift to a different village. I will make the arrangements," Patil said.

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Govt releases Rs 1,200 crore state relief funds

Earlier today Karnataka Chief Minister, BS Yediyurappa said that Rs 1,200 crore has been released from the state relief funds to provide relief work to flood-hit regions. Yediyurappa, while speaking to reporters at Hubli Airport, said that the state has allocated Rs 5 lakhs per person to build houses. He added, "Rs 1 lakh is being paid for partial home damage," and the state government does not face any financial crunch.

The Karnataka CM further stated that the district authorities have been instructed to rush to the aid of the flood victims. Home Minister Basavraj Bommai, Forest Minister CC Patil, District Collector Deepa Cholan, Commissioner of Police R Dileep, Senior Superintendent of Police Vartika Katiyar were also present at the airport.

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Torrential rains hit Karnataka 

Torrential rains hit the state of Karnataka on October 18. According to sources, the death toll due to the rains has gone up to 13. Reports also suggest huge damage to the livestock. 10,000 houses have been damaged due to floods, this included 202 houses that were damaged completely, of which 160 are from Haveri district.

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