Bengaluru, Sep 28 Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Monday said the opposition BJP-JD(S) leaders are unwilling to join the Congress-led delegation to visit Delhi and explain to the union government on the drought situation in the state.
He said he would do whatever was necessary to protect the interests of farmers.
“If they (opposition) are not interested, if they are not joining, it means they are not interested in addressing the woes of the farmers,” Shivakumar told reporters here.
He said the state government had proposed an all-party meeting on drought and the Kasturirangan report and he was in the process of fixing a date for it.
“We had discussed the Kasturirangan report and drought, so I wanted to fix a date for an all-party delegation to Delhi,” he said.
Shivakumar said the Opposition had been demanding compensation of Rs 25,000 to Rs 50,000 to the drought-affected farmers, but they should also have come forward to seek assistance from the Centre.
Stating that a central drought assessment committee would come to Karnataka and start working from October 3, the CM said the state government would extend all necessary cooperation within the legal framework.
“The opposition should stand by us in providing relief to the farmers. Even if they don’t join, I will do whatever is necessary to protect the interests of the farmers of this state,” he said.
(PTI News)
