Planes for rebel MLAs but no helicopter for flood-hit people? JD(S) asks Yeddy

Bengaluru: The JD(S) on Thursday hit out at the BJP government in Karnataka on the issue of tackling the flood situation, alleging it could not deploy helicopters to evacuate affected people but had arranged special planes to ferry rebel MLAs to Mumbai.

"You (BJP) could arrange special aeroplane to ferry disgruntled MLAs (of Congress and the JDS) to Mumbai but you could not arrange a helicopter for the poor people dying due to flood," the Janata Dal (Secular) tweeted.

Those who arranged the stay of rebel MLAs in the five-star hotel in Mumbai could not set up even the rice starch centres for the poor people, the party led by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda alleged.

"Do you get sadistic pleasure by seeing lakhs of people in distress? Is this why you toppled a perfectly functioning govt? To see people suffer? Shame on you!" the JD(S) said.

The Congress-JD(S) coalition government led by H D Kumaraswamy collapsed last month after the group of rebel MLAs resigned, reducing the government to a minority.

Thereafter, the BJP staked claim to form the government and B S Yediyurappa was sworn in as Chief Minister on July 26 and his government later also proved its majority. Nearly 44,000 people have so far been evacuated from flood-hit and rain-affected areas of Karnataka, where the rain fury has left nine people dead, authorities said on Thursday.

The worst-hit was Belagavi district, where six people have lost their lives, while 40,180 people have been evacuated. Two persons lost their lives in rain-related incidents in Uttara Kannada district, from where 3,088 people have been evacuated till date, and one in Shivamogga, according to official figures.