Government of Karnataka. he has no moral right to celebrate: Ashok

R. Ashok | Photo credit: file photo

Ahead of the convention organized by the Congress government to mark its third anniversary, the BJP on Monday claimed that the government had no moral right to organize such anniversary celebrations at a time when the state was witnessing a sad trend of farmer suicides.

At a press conference in Bengaluru, Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly R. Ashok directly blamed the Congress government for the farm distress that resulted in farmer suicides, claiming that the government’s anti-agricultural policies were to blame.

“While farmer suicides fell by 2.22% across the country, they increased by 22.61% in Karnataka. In 2023, there were 2,423 farmer suicides; in 2024, it rose to 2,971. According to the NCRB report, Karnataka ranks second in the country in the number of farmer suicides in the Congress.”

He argued that continuing to celebrate the anniversary at such a sad time would mean indulging in politics over farmers’ graves.

He claimed that the government has failed to provide sufficient funds for the welfare of farmers in the state budget despite making a pre-election promise to ensure their development.

Accusing the government of not responding to farmers’ problems, he claimed that the government’s oft-touted guarantee schemes turned out to be “Suicide Guarantee”, “No Crop Replacement Guarantee”, “No Water Guarantee” and “No Three-Phase Power Guarantee” for farmers.

Accusing the government of being apathetic towards farmers’ problems, Mr. Ashok alleged that the government did not bother to help them even as standing crops on thousands of acres were destroyed by natural calamities.

Alleging that ₹12 crore was demanded from the government for holding the third annual conference, he alleged that it would amount to misuse of funds as it was nothing but a political conference of the Congress.

“People’s tax money is being looted in the name of such conventions. The real intention of organizing this event with a budget of ₹ 12 crore is to siphon off ₹ 8 crore,” he said.

Published – 18 May 2026 22:00 IST