Senior Congress leader and former Karnataka Minister H K Patil on Sunday said he would resign as MLA if Gadag taluk was not declared drought-hit by October 10.
“If Gadag taluk is not declared drought-hit, I will naturally abide by your (farmers and people) decision. “I am not that helpless. I will do whatever needs to be done to get it done within three days.
Because you are with me, i am an MLA. If you want me to resign, I will submit my resignation if Gadag is not declared drought-hit by October 10,” Patil told farmers. I will make every effort to ensure that Gadag district is declared drought-hit before Gandhi Jayanti, that is, before October 2,” he said. Earlier in the day, Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara, who also holds the Revenue portfolio, said more than 200 taluks across Karnataka are likely to be included in the drought-affected list as the government assesses them in phases based on prescribed criteria and ground-truthing. He said 101 taluks were declared drought-affected in the first phase, followed by another 24. An additional 52 taluks are expected to be declared drought-affected in the next three to four days.
Addressing them, Patil said he was not “helpless” and would make all efforts to ensure the declaration was made at the earliest.
