Will you dismiss 13 state governments for opposing CAA, NRC: Siddaramaiah to Centre
MYSURU/BENGALURU: Former chief minister Siddaramaiah on Monday slammed the Centre yet again, asking whether it would dismiss those state governments which are opposed to the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act. “In Bihar, the BJP is a ruling party since it is in a coalition with the JDU, and yet it has opposed CAA/NRC. Will you withdraw support in Bihar because of this? If CAA/NRC is not implemented in states where the BJP is in power, how can you insist on other states implementing it?” he asked. Already, 13 states have openly expressed their opposition to the Act, he added.
“Governors of the states directing their respective governments to implement CAA is not constitutional, governors are not heads of popularly elected governments. There is no rule that state governments have to abide by their directions,’’ Siddaramaiah said. With many flood victims in Karnataka still homeless and living on the streets, many months after the disaster, he pointed to the failure in providing tangible relief to these victims.
“Payouts to those who lost their homes and farmers who lost their crops, have not been done yet, and there is no sign of compensation for commercial establishments that suffered losses either. When Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah visited Karnataka, they didn’t utter a word about it. Of the Rs 35,000 crore demanded from the Centre, the state got a mere Rs 1,869 crore,” he said. He also held the district ministers responsible, saying they don’t visit their districts, and some departments are not working actively because there are no ministers.
Taking a dig at rebel MLAs who jumped ship to join the BJP, he predicted “an explosion in the party” after cabinet expansion. In the BJP, many are waiting for cabinet posts, and all rebels who won the elections will not be given berths, he said, quoting “inside information”. Indicating unrest in the rebel camp, he said that former MLA Adagur H Vishwanath has already said he will make a decision after cabinet expansion.
Asked about the delay in the announcement of the KPCC chief, Siddaramaiah said there are more important issues to be addressed, like Mahadayi and flood relief, and lashed out at Amit Shah for not speaking about the Mahadayi issue.