BSY slams K'taka CM for 'jolly trip' to US amid drought

The BJP's Karnataka chief B S Yeddyurappa on Monday hit out at Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy for his "jolly trip" to the US at a crucial time when the state was reeling under severe drought.

Accusing the government of being "irresponsible", the leader of the opposition in the assembly said he would be travelling to drought-affected areas of the state once again.

"State is reeling under severe drought condition and at this crucial juncture, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy is visiting America on a jolly trip.

I'm not against CM visiting places, but this was not the time to have a jolly trip to a foreign country," Yeddyurappa said.

Speaking to reporters here, he pointed out that more than 570 revenue circles in the state were facing acute shortage of water and rain.

Kumaraswamy is currently on a visit to the US to take part in the groundbreaking ceremony of Vokkaliga community's Kalabhairaveshwara temple and will conclude his trip on July 5 after addressing a convention of Vokkaligas Parishath.

He had left the city on June 28 night.

Kumaraswamy belongs to Vokkaliga community, a dominant community in southern Karnataka and a strong vote base of the JD(S).

JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda on Sunday had attacked the BJP for objecting to his son Kumaraswamy's ongoing visit to the US, asking whether he should have sought permission for it from Yeddyurappa.

Detailing the plight of farmers and drought situation in the state, Yeddyurappa alleged that the government was is in deep slumber. He also accused it of being involved in corruption, not focused on the development and called it irresponsible.

The Chief Minister had promised to waive Rs 46,000 crore worth farmers loan within 24 hours after coming to power, he said. "If they had not made such false promise they (JDS) wouldn't have won even 20 seats. Today they are saying only Rs 16,000 crore worth farm loan will be waived."

Claiming that farmers were not in peace in the state, he said he would hold talks with party leaders and take stock of the drought situation and farmers' plight in affected areas. "I have decided to tour the state once again....we will decide the dates and schedule soon," he added.

The former Chief Minister had recently toured the drought-affected areas of North Karnataka. Yeddyurappa also indicated that his party would raise a host of issues in the coming session of the Karnataka legislature from July 12.

He claimed that government in the guise of implementing the anti-land grabbing act was evicting farmers from their fields which they were cultivating for more than 20-30 years. Yeddyurappa alleged that the act was brought to eliminate land-grabbers from cities and towns, but the government was harassing farmers.

"Many coffee cultivators have been evicted...we strongly oppose this move of the state government," he said.

Alleging that developmental works in the state had been completely halted, Yeddyurappa said, according to an estimate there were about Rs 10,000 crore pending bills.

"The government has to wake up and respond to the needs of the people, this government is irresponsible and has neglected the development of the state," he said.