Bengaluru: Former Karnataka chief minister and Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Kumaraswamy on Saturday lauded Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan for allowing the Kerala unit of his party to remain part of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government.
This comes a day after Vijayan denied JD(S) national president HD Deve Gowda’s statement that Vijayan supported JD(S)’s alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The Kerala unit of JD(S) continues to be an integral part of the LDF, Kumaraswamy said. “The situation in Kerala differs from that in Karnataka. The issue we have is confined to our party,” he said. “It is not something we wish to discuss with the Kerala chief minister.”
Expressing gratitude to Vijayan for JD(S)’s continued participation in LDF, Kumaraswamy also criticised Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah, his deputy, DK Shivakumar, and cabinet ministers for attending a cricket match between Australia and Pakistan at the Chinnaswamy Cricket Stadium in Bengaluru.
Kumaraswamy questioned whether the state cabinet attended the match to support Pakistan and raised concerns about their priorities. “If it’s an India versus Pakistan match, then it’s fine. But the match was between Pakistan and Australia. Did they lend support to Pakistan or Australia? The state is suffering, and the government is watching a cricket match,” Kumaraswamy said.
“They say they did what they have promised, but the farmers are suffering. The government is seeking funds from the central government. The government has written a letter to the central government. Now the government should approach the Centre,” he said, referring to the chief minister’s claim that he had appealed to the Centre for crop loss compensation of ₹4,860 crore.
{{/usCountry}}“They say they did what they have promised, but the farmers are suffering. The government is seeking funds from the central government. The government has written a letter to the central government. Now the government should approach the Centre,” he said, referring to the chief minister’s claim that he had appealed to the Centre for crop loss compensation of ₹4,860 crore.
{{/usCountry}}The JD(S) leader further alleged that farmers in the state were facing a shortage of water in some districts.
Earlier this week, Siddaramaiah had said that the state’s farmers had suffered losses amounting to ₹30,000 crore due to drought. Crop losses have been reported on 42 lakh hectares of agricultural land. “As per the National Disaster Response Fund norms, we have sought ₹4,860 crore from the union government, and the central team has visited the drought-hit areas,” Siddaramaiah had said.