‘25 Karnataka BJP MPs yet zero attention from Centre on flood relief’

BENGALURU: The state unit of BJP scored an unprecedented victory in the general election earlier this year by securing 25 of the 28 seats — 26 seats if one is to count independent Sumalatha Ambareesh, whom the party supported — on offer in the state, but the opposition insists MPs have been woefully ineffective in terms of securing initial flood relief from the Centre.
State leaders — Nirmala Sitharaman and Pralhad Joshi especially — have garnered key berths in Prime

Minister Narendra Modi’s council of ministers, but questions are now swirling over whether the state has capitalised on its “strengths” in seeking immediate aid for the 17 districts ravaged by rain and floods.
Former chief minister and Congress legislature party leader Siddaramaiah tried to drive home the point when he said the central government has again turned a “blind eye” to Karnataka in a time of crisis.
“None of the previous govts or PMs, including Shri Vajpayee, had ignored Karnataka during Natural calamities. But the attitude of @ narendramodi towards Ktaka & @BSYBJP, inspite of 25 MPs, is disgraceful. We Kannadigas shall never tolerate this callous attitude.” Siddaramaiah had tweeted.
Some BJP workers admit Siddaramaiah does have a point. “Under [HN] Ananth Kumar’s stewardship, the state could have benefited a lot more due to his stature in the party and his understanding of ministries. However, the current BJP MPs are too lowkey,” said a party worker.
The case of “missing” ministers has also not been lost on the opposition. While Union chemicals and fertilizers minister DV Sadananda Gowda appeared “aloof” when chief minister BS Yediyurappa called on Modi to seek assistance, parliamentary affairs minister Joshi had publicly contradicted Yediyurappa over the state’s demand for central relief.
The only Union minister who was “active” was MoS Suresh Angadi. His constituency — Belagavi — is the worst affected after water from the Krishna river flooded homes, destroyed crops and inundated roads.
But MPs have shrugged off the accusations. Four-time MP from Dakshina Kannada, Nalin Kumar Kateel, whose constituency has been ravaged by floods, says it is the state’s responsibility to provide a “structured” rehabilitation plan to secure funding from the central government.
“Unless there is a structured plan, the Union government cannot release funds,” Kateel said. “Even if, with our numbers, we pile pressure on the Centre, release of funds without any plan of action will be questioned by auditors at the end of the fiscal,” said Kateel.
Kateel said officials are already working on a plan and it is only a matter of time before the Centre releases funds. “The opposition is trying to politicise the issue. There is no delay as such from the Centre,” said Kateel.
Agreeing with Kateel, PC Mohan, who represents Bengaluru Central in the Lok Sabha, said the Modi government has never discriminated on the issue of releasing funds for natural calamities. “Once the state’s action plan is sent to the Centre and the central team assesses the damage, we MPs will assist the rehabilitation process in every way possible,” Mohan said.