After MLA resigns, taluk added to drought-hit list | India News

Vijayapura’s Indi taluk was placed on Karnataka’s ground truthing list for drought assessment on Thursday, a day after Congress MLA Yashvanta Rayagouda V Patil submitted his resignation over its exclusion from the drought affected areas.The government issued a notification adding Indi to the list, following Patil’s intervention with chief minister D.K. Shivakumar. Patil had argued that his repeated requests to include Indi and Chadachan had gone unheeded and had tendered his resignation from the Assembly on Wednesday.The inclusion came as the Assembly was debating Patil’s resignation and the government’s drought declarations.The Speaker, GS Patil, had said the resignation could not be accepted because it did not comply with the prescribed rules.Patil, the Congress legislator from Indi, had submitted his resignation to the Speaker and separately informed Shivakumar of his decision. He had said farmers in his constituency were facing pressure after borrowing money and investing in cultivation, while Indi remained outside the drought declaration.“I have conveyed my concerns to the chief minister, and he has assured me that the issue will be rectified. Twelve taluks in Vijayapura district have been declared drought hit. However, only my two taluks have not been included in the drought declaration. I am repeatedly being treated unfairly. Ours is the last taluk, yet it has not been declared drought hit. chief minister DK Shivakumar has understood my concern, and I am confident that he will rectify the issue,” Patil said.The resignation had triggered a confrontation between the treasury and Opposition benches, with BJP legislators demanding that the Speaker clarify whether Patil’s resignation had been accepted.Former home minister and BJP MLA Araga Jnanendra raised the issue in the Assembly, while Leader of Opposition R Ashoka said he was speaking in that capacity on the resignation of a sitting legislator. Ashoka said the BJP had a copy of the resignation letter and referred to Shivakumar’s earlier statement that resignations submitted by legislators would be accepted.“Is the resignation now accepted? If so, does DK Shivakumar’s word have any value? If you have the courage, accept the resignation,” Ashoka said.Shivakumar defended Patil’s decision as one linked to the situation faced by farmers in his constituency rather than as a political manoeuvre. “This is a resignation given for the sake of the people’s livelihood. The Prime Minister has also warned us about the drought situation,” Shivakumar said.The chief minister said farmers in Patil’s constituency had borrowed money and invested in cultivation. He also said drought declarations were governed by established criteria and could not be made arbitrarily.The Speaker subsequently clarified that Patil’s resignation had not been accepted because it did not meet the prescribed requirements.Patil’s latest resignation was his second this year. He had earlier stepped down after being left out of the recent Cabinet expansion, but withdrew that resignation following efforts by Shivakumar and senior Congress leaders.