Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said that he is ready to resign if Union home minister Amit Shah’s accussation on the government over the delay in drought relief to the state is proven right.

Speaking to media in Mysuru, he challenged Shah and accused him of spreading falsehoods regarding state’s submission of a memorandum to the Centre for drought relief.

Union home minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said that the delay in releasing drought relief funds to Karnataka was due to the delay by the state government in submitting the proposal by three months.

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Addressing party workers and leaders in Bengaluru on Tuesday, Shah had said, “There is a drought in Karnataka, they (state government) were late by three months in sending a proposal to the Central government, and today the application for drought relief from the Centre is with the Election Commission. They (Congress government) are doing politics over it.”

Siddaramaiah vehemently denied Shah’s claim and said that the state government had submitted its memorandum not once, but three times by October 2023, well before the Central team’s visit to assess the situation on the ground. “If this is false, I will resign,” the CM said while asking Shah if he will submit his resignation if his claim proves to be untrue.

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Siddaramaiah further said “In October 2023, we submitted three memorandums seeking drought relief funds. The Central team visited the state in October and submitted a report on October 20. I personally met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 19 and Union home minister Amit Shah on December 20 regarding this matter. Shah assured me of a meeting on December 23, but it has yet to happen. How can the Union home minister blatantly lie like this? What moral authority does he possess?”

Furthermore, he emphasised that all relevant records regarding the release of drought relief funds by the Centre have been submitted to the Supreme Court. “If our claims were untrue, we would not have approached the apex court. According to the recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission, the Union government is obligated to release the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) during calamities such as droughts or floods. The NDRF fund belongs to the states. The delay in disbursing these funds is unjustified, and the Centre must fulfil its obligations. I urge people to express their discontent by refraining from voting for the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls,” Siddaramaiah added.

In March this year, the Karnataka government has approached the Supreme Court against the Centre, demanding release of drought relief under the NDRF.

The state has pegged crop loss damage due to drought at ₹35,162.05 crores and sought ₹18,171 crore from the Centre under the NDRF.

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Of this, ₹4,663.12 crore was towards crop loss input subsidy (which is provided regarding the cost of inputs like seeds and fertilisers), ₹12,577.9 crore towards gratuitous relief for families affected by drought, ₹566.78 crore for drinking water purposes and ₹363.68 towards cattle care.

The BJP has refrained from making comments on Amit Shah’s statement and the state government’s counter. HT reached out to two BJP MLAs and a spokesperson, however, they refused to comment saying the state party will issue a statement on the matter.