Kalaburagi
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah ridiculed BJP State President B.Y. Vijayendra for celebrating his birthday with protesting sugarcane farmers in Belagavi, calling it a “political drama.” Speaking at Kudligi town in Vijayanagara district on Sunday, Siddaramaiah said that instead of staying with farmers, Vijayendra should have taken the issue to the Union government, which decides the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) for sugarcane.
“Who fixes the FRP? It’s not the State, but the Central Government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Union Minister Pralhad Joshi. Vijayendra should have met them instead of sleeping in protest tents and celebrating his birthday,” the Chief Minister said while inaugurating several development projects, including a ₹859-crore scheme to fill 74 tanks in Kudligi taluk.
Siddaramaiah added that the State government has already addressed farmers’ concerns by offering ₹50 from the State treasury and convincing sugar mills to contribute another ₹50, bringing the total FRP to ₹3,300 per tonne. He accused Vijayendra of trying to “provoke farmers and create unrest.”
Criticizing the BJP for its “hunger for power,” Siddaramaiah alleged that the party came to power in several States through vote theft (vote chori). “They even managed to manipulate voter lists in Mahadevpura and Aland. One house in Mahadevpura reportedly had 80 voters. How is that possible?” he questioned.
Responding to BJP’s charge that the Congress government was “bankrupt” due to its welfare schemes, Siddaramaiah clarified, “Our finances are strong. We have spent ₹1.12 lakh crore on subsidies and ₹1,250 crore on development in Kudligi alone.”
He assured that the Congress government will fulfill all 513 promises made in its 2023 election manifesto. Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar and other ministers were present at the event.
