Karnataka - Mangalore   

Yediyurappa lashes out at Centre

Staff Correspondent

Rejection of State demands cause for ire

MANGALORE: The refusal by the National Development Council (NDC) even to consider the suggestions made by Karnataka relating to farmers' development at its 53rd meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday smacks of the parochial mindset of the Centre towards the State, Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa has said. Condemning the Centre for its attitude, Mr. Yediyurappa said the State would come to the rescue of the farmers here.

Addressing presspersons here on Thursday, Mr. Yediyurappa said the State had suggested to the Centre to extend agriculture loans to farmers at four per cent interest through nationalised banks and also waive farm loans up to Rs. 25,000.

Crisis

Stating that the Planning Commission was opposed to this move, he said the Centre had failed to bail out farmers who were facing a grave crisis.

The State had also urged the Centre to provide Karnataka with a matching grant of Rs. 200 crore for a revolving fund of the like sum set up by it to help farmers who did not get remunerative prices for their agriculture produce. The NDC had also shot down this proposal, Mr. Yediyurappa said and wondered if the Centre was even remotely interested in helping farmers who were facing one crisis after another.

The State Government, on the other hand, had taken steps to meet the assurances given by the previous governments headed by S.M. Krishna and N. Dharam Singh, he said.

Rubbishing claims of Congress leaders that the State did not get its due at the NDC as it was not properly represented, Mr. Yediyurappa said both Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and he could not attend the meeting due to their pre-occupation with campaigning in Ullal.

The Government had deputed an able and efficient person in Home Minister M.P. Prakash to represent Karnataka at the meeting, he pointed.

`A mistake'

Our Special Correspondent reports:

Both Mr. Kumaraswamy and Mr. Yediyurappa committed a grave mistake by not attending the NDC meeting, B. Janardhana Poojary, MP, has said.

Addressing presspersons, Mr. Poojary said NDC was not an ordinary body for the State to ignore, as important decisions could be taken by it after discussions with the Chief Minister or the Deputy Chief Minister.

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