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Siddaramaiah a fund raiser, distt collector of Wayanad: Ashoka
The opposition BJP on Thursday slammed the chief minister over a social media post by the Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC) promoting a tour package to Wayanad
The opposition BJP on Thursday slammed the chief minister over a social media post by the Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC) promoting a tour package to Wayanad, a hill station in neighbouring Kerala, made on October 28, pointing out that the district was represented in the Lok Sabha by senior Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
The post on X by the tourism department read: “Seeking thrill or tranquillity? Find both in Wayanad! Trek scenic trails, chase waterfalls & meet the wild with KSTDC. Your perfect nature escape awaits.” It was meant to promote a two-night and three day tour package to the hill station.
Leader of Opposition in the assembly and senior BJP leader R Ashoka questioned the intent behind the post, referring to chief minister Siddaramaiah as “Wayanad’s district collector and fund raiser”.
In a post on X, he alleged that the chief minister diverted state resources to Wayanad, claiming, “You signed off ₹10 crore of Karnataka taxpayers’ money to Wayanad at lightning speed. You gave ₹15 lakh to the family of a man killed by an elephant, and announced 100 houses after a landslide — all in Wayanad.”
Ashoka contrasted this with the situation in north Karnataka, where he said floods and crop losses had left farmers without relief.
“Where is the compensation and flood relief for Kalaburagi, Raichur, Yadgir, Bidar, Vijayapura, Bagalkot, and Belagavi? Where is the urgency? What are your priorities?” he wrote.
“This is not charity. This is high command appeasement to save your chair,” Ashoka said, adding, “Karnataka doesn’t need a chief minister who bows to the fake Gandhi family, spends our treasury like it’s the high command’s ATM, and forgets his own farmers. We elected a chief minister of Karnataka, not a puppet of Delhi or a brand ambassador of Wayanad.”
Echoing the criticism, BJP leader and former minister C.T. Ravi said the KSTDC should focus on promoting destinations within Karnataka rather than encouraging tourists to visit Kerala.
However, fact-checker Mohammed Zubair countered the BJP’s claims, noting that similar Wayanad promotions had appeared under the previous BJP government. “Hello, R. Ashoka, these tweets by KSTDC promoting Wayanad tourism were when the BJP government was in power,” he wrote, sharing screenshots of 2022 posts.
Congress MLC Saleem Ahmed dismissed the controversy as politically motivated. They don’t have any work other than making such statements,” he said. “They even mocked the Shakti scheme that offers free bus travel for women. This is just one post promoting tourism,” he added.
The state tourism department has not commented on the matter.
