States » SouthPosted at: Oct 30 2026 5:29PM


Ashoka accuses Karnataka govt of harassing farmers in name of compensation

Bengaluru, Oct 30 (UNI) Leader of Opposition R Ashoka on Friday accused the Karnataka government of delaying drought compensation to farmers and subjecting them to unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles, alleging that the Congress government was making it difficult for distressed farmers to access even the meagre assistance of Rs 2,500.
Targeting Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, Ashoka questioned the government's commitment to farmers, pointing out that the proposed one-time compensation of Rs 2,500 was accompanied by as many as 17 conditions.
In a series of posts on social media, Ashoka alleged that farmers who had suffered crop losses due to inadequate rainfall were being made to run from one government office to another to secure the relief amount.
He questioned the rationale behind imposing multiple conditions, including registration on the FRUITS portal, Aadhaar linkage, farmer identification and bank account requirements, when farmers were already struggling with crop losses.
"Does the government lack the intention to compensate farmers, or is its treasury empty? If it cannot provide relief, let it admit it openly instead of harassing farmers through a maze of conditions," he said.
Ashoka alleged that nearly four months had passed since the monsoon failure, but the government had failed to complete the necessary exercise to identify affected farmers and prepare compensation lists in time.
He accused the government of shifting the responsibility for technical problems involving the FRUITS portal, Aadhaar linkage, bank accounts and land records (RTC) onto farmers instead of resolving them through the administration.
Demanding immediate intervention, the BJP leader asked the government to relax unnecessary conditions, finalise the list of eligible farmers and transfer the compensation directly into their bank accounts through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
He also questioned why the government was making farmers struggle for such a small amount when they had already incurred substantial losses.
"Compensation for the sweat, hard work and crop losses of farmers is not charity but their right," he said, urging the Chief Minister to stop testing the patience of the farming community.
Ashoka further challenged Shivakumar to apologise to farmers and resign if the government was incapable of delivering the promised relief.
He warned that continued neglect of farmers' grievances would invite a strong backlash against the Congress government.
The criticism comes amid mounting opposition to the government's decision to provide a one-time drought relief of Rs 2,500 per farmer, with the BJP and farmer organisations demanding substantially higher compensation.
The government has authorised the release of the first instalment of drought relief, but questions remain over the conditions governing its disbursement.
UNI BDN
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