Indi taluk added to Karnataka drought list after Cong MLA Patil submits resignation in protest
In Short
Ashoka said the BJP had a copy of Patil's resignation letter and recalled Shivakumar's earlier statement that resignations submitted by legislators would be accepted.
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Indi taluk added to Karnataka drought list after Cong MLA Patil submits resignation in protest
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has yielded to pressure from Congress MLA Yashwantharayagowda Patil by adding Vijayapura district's Indi taluk to the drought-hit list on Thursday, a day after the legislator submitted his resignation protesting its exclusion from the list.
The government has included Indi taluk in the ‘ground-truthing’ list and issued an official notification to this effect.
Patil had resigned from the Karnataka Legislative Assembly on Wednesday, protesting the exclusion of Indi and Chadachan taluks from the drought-hit areas list.
The development came after Patil conveyed his concerns to Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and expressed disappointment that his repeated requests to include the two taluks had not been considered.
“I have conveyed my concerns to the Chief Minister, and he has assured me that the issue will be rectified. Twelve taluks in Vijayapura district have been declared drought-hit. However, only my two taluks have not been included in the drought declaration. I am repeatedly being treated unfairly. Ours is the last taluk, yet it has not been declared drought-hit. Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar has understood my concern, and I am confident that he will rectify the issue,” Patil said.
Patil, the Congress MLA from Indi, had submitted his resignation letter to Assembly Speaker G.S. Patil and also informed Chief Minister Shivakumar about his decision. His resignation triggered a political uproar in the Assembly, with the Opposition BJP demanding clarification from the Speaker.
Former Home Minister and BJP MLA Araga Jnanendra raised the issue in the Assembly and sought clarification on the status of Patil's resignation.
R. Ashoka also intervened, saying he was speaking in his capacity as the Leader of Opposition on the resignation of a sitting MLA.
Ashoka said the BJP had a copy of Patil's resignation letter and recalled Shivakumar's earlier statement that resignations submitted by legislators would be accepted.
“Is the resignation now accepted? If so, does D.K. Shivakumar's word have any value? If you have the courage, accept the resignation,” Ashoka said.
Responding to the Opposition, CM Shivakumar said there was no need for the BJP to panic and maintained that Patil's resignation was linked to the concerns of people in his constituency.
“This is a resignation given for the sake of the people's livelihood. The Prime Minister has also warned us about the drought situation,” CM Shivakumar said.
The Chief Minister said Patil had been under pressure as farmers in his constituency had borrowed money and invested in cultivation. He also explained that there were established guidelines for declaring a taluk drought-affected and that the government could not arbitrarily declare an area drought-hit.
The Speaker later clarified that Patil's resignation had not been accepted, stating that it did not comply with the prescribed rules.
Patil's latest resignation came amid continuing dissatisfaction among some Congress legislators over the declaration of drought-hit taluks. He had earlier also expressed disappointment after being denied a ministerial berth during the recent Cabinet expansion. Following efforts by Shivakumar and senior Congress leaders, he had withdrawn his earlier resignation and continued as MLA.
Karnataka had declared 188 taluks as drought-affected in four phases under the drought-declaration guidelines framed by the Centre in 2020. The first phase covered 101 taluks, followed by 23 in the second, 53 in the third and 11 in the fourth phase.
