Bengaluru, Apr 28 (IANS): The BJP and the Congress in Karnataka traded barbs against each other on Saturday over the release of Rs 3,454 crore for drought relief to the state by the Central government.

While the BJP thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the move, the Congress expressed its displeasure over the relief amount.

Karnataka BJP President B.Y. Vijayendra said, "Narendra Modi's government has always lived up to its promises and displayed great responsibility towards the farmers. Despite the Model Code of Conduct in place and the associated restrictions, the BJP government at the Centre sought special permission from the Election Commission for priority release of funds considering the distress of our farmers caused by the unprecedented drought. We are proud of our Prime Minister for standing by the farmers and for the welfare of the state."

“The relief is a tight slap on the face of the Congress government led by Siddaramaiah, who instead of providing immediate relief to the farmers was looking to politicise the issue to score some brownie points at the cost of the farmers who feed us,” Vjiayendra added.

Reacting to the development, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah claimed that Rs 3,464 crore drought relief has been released by the Central government on the instructions of the Supreme Court.

"This is not even a quarter of the request submitted by the state government," he said while speaking to reporters in Kalaburagi.

"The state had submitted a memorandum seeking the release of Rs 18,172 crore for drought relief, as per the NDRF guidelines. Crop loss occurred in 48 lakh hectares of land amounting to around Rs 35,000 crore. But Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman lied that the state submitted the memorandum late.

“Later, Nirmala Sitharaman said we did not seek grants for drought relief, but for 'guarantees'. We haven't asked for a single penny for the guarantee schemes and we never will. Both of them clearly lied,” he claimed.

“I met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 19, 2023, and brought to his notice the dire drought situation in the state and the plight of the farmers, along with the memorandum seeking Rs 18,172 crore for relief measures. When I met Amit Shah on December 20, he told me that he would call a high-level committee meeting on December 23 and take a decision. For the first time in the history of India, the Supreme Court had to intervene, and as a result, very little relief has been provided after its directive,” Siddaramaiah claimed.

Commenting on the issue, the leader of opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, R. Ashoka, said, "Let the state government provide double relief to the farmers like the previous BJP government by adding its share to the relief package provided by the Centre."

"It is an open secret that there is no money left with the state government. It delayed in submitting data on drought to the Centre. The Central government has taken measures, and the Congress government has no role to play in it. The money was released following the consent of the Election Commission," the BJP leader argued.