Congress leader G. Parameshwara on Sunday said the proposal for a Rapid Action Force (RAF) unit in Karnataka was sent to the Centre when he was Home Minister and land was allotted for the purpose under Congress rule.
At a press conference in Shivamogga, he said Union Home Minister Amit Shah had told lies to the people of Bhadravati during his speech after laying the foundation stone for the RAF unit on Saturday. “I have documents to show that the proposal was submitted and land was earmarked for the purpose in Bhadravati during my tenure as Home Minister of the State. I don’t know if officers misguided the Minister,” he said.
Mr. Parameshwara said the Congress would stage a protest against amending the APMC law on January 20. He said the amendment would harm farmers, who were already facing many problems. “The Centre has said minimum support price (MSP) will continue. But farmers have no faith in its assurance. The corporate forces have already entered the agricultural market. The new laws introduced by the Centre will benefit them,” he said. He said the Congress would stage a protest in Bengaluru and submit a memorandum to the Governor.
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The former Minister also demanded that the State government release a white paper on the financial state of Karnataka. The government has been under financial stress as the Centre has not released GST compensation, he said.
He also said the government had stopped funds for many schemes, while the money earmarked for the SC and ST sub-plans was negligible compared to what was allocated under Siddaramaiah’s rule.
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