BELAGAVI:
The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) caused a commotion in the assembly on Wednesday by bringing up Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s statement that the state government would allocate Rs 10,000 crore for the phased development of the Muslim community in Hubballi.
After the question and answer session concluded, BJP member V. Sunil Kumar stated, “It is inappropriate for Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to announce outside the session that he will provide a grant of Rs 10,000 crore to the Muslim community. He should explain this.”
Opposition leader R. Ashoka echoed this sentiment, highlighting that the government lacks funds to provide subsidies to farmers, yet they are willing to allocate such a substantial amount elsewhere. “When we were in power, no such announcements were made during the session. It is not right to announce grants outside the assembly,” he added.
Ashok further emphasized the importance of making announcements within the assembly, stating, “If announcements are made outside, then what is the purpose of holding the session? Publicizing outside is merely political. We also have the strength, with 85 members. A farmer named Shivappa committed suicide due to drought, and we demand that you release two thousand crores of rupees as compensation. You don’t deserve to allocate ten thousand crores elsewhere while neglecting our farmers. The government will not survive if the farmers are cursed.”
Amidst the argument between the administration and BJP members, dissatisfaction with the government’s clarification led to a meeting being staged by the BJP members. Expressing his discontent, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister HK Patil stated, “The Legislative Assembly should not become a factory of fake news under any circumstances.”
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has not announced any grant of 10 thousand crores to the Muslim community. To gain a comprehensive understanding, I encourage you to watch his entire speech. In his address, he emphasized the importance of providing accurate information to the House, as disseminating false information undermines the democratic system.
RV Deshpande, a senior member of the Congress party, accused the BJP of attempting to manipulate the truth. He clarified that this year alone, we have allocated 4 thousand crore rupees to support minority communities. The claim of providing 10 thousand thousand crore rupees is completely baseless and should be disregarded. Deshpande also criticized the BJP’s Sabhatyaga, deeming it condemnable.
Ministers Dinesh Gundurao, Priyank Kharge, and other officials joined in condemning the BJP’s actions.
