Congress MLA Yashvanta Rayagouda V Patil resigned from the Karnataka Assembly on Wednesday after the government left Indi and Chadchan taluks in his Vijayapura constituency out of the list of drought affected areas, saying he could no longer do justice to voters who had elected him.
Patil submitted his resignation to Assembly Speaker Gurupadagouda Sanganagouda Patil in Bengaluru, escalating pressure on the Congress government as the legislature discussed the state’s drought situation. The MLA had repeatedly sought drought status for Indi and Chadchan. But our words and feelings are not being valued,” Patil wrote. Patil also raised the issue of political influence in the government’s response to demands from constituencies. “He is not resigning for any other reason. The chief minister also rejected the suggestion that Patil’s resignation was part of a broader political strategy. The chief minister also defended the government’s method of identifying drought affected areas, saying the declaration could not be made simply on the basis of demands from individual legislators.
“I am a ruling party MLA and have made several requests to our government in a sensitive manner so that it does not cause embarrassment. In his resignation, Patil said he was unable to fulfil his responsibility towards the voters who had elected him and was therefore voluntarily stepping down as a member of the Assembly. In a letter to chief minister D K Shivakumar on August 28, Patil pointed out that 11 of Vijayapura district’s 13 taluks had been declared drought affected, while the two taluks in his constituency had been excluded. Referring to recent comments by senior BJP leader K S Eshwarappa about 15 legislators resigning, Shivakumar said the two situations were different.
He said he had made the requests while trying to avoid putting the government in an embarrassing position, but felt his appeals were not receiving adequate attention. “In today’s political situation, those who are strong and exert pressure are getting recognition, while people like us, who are mild-natured, are not getting recognition for any work,” he said. The chief minister said farmers in several parts of Karnataka had borrowed money to cultivate their land and were now facing the consequences of the drought. This is a resignation he has come forward to give for the lives of farmers,” Shivakumar said. He said the process was governed by prescribed criteria, including rainfall deficiency and the number of days without rain.
