Bengaluru, Sep 23 (IANS): Congress MLA from Indi Assembly seat, Yashwantharayagowda Patil, on Wednesday submitted his resignation from the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, protesting the exclusion of Indi and Chadachan taluks in Vijayapura district from the list of drought-hit areas.
The resignation triggered a political uproar in the Assembly, with the Opposition BJP raising the issue and demanding clarification from the Speaker.
Patil submitted his resignation letter to Assembly Speaker G.S. Patil and also informed Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar about his decision. According to insiders, efforts were underway at the Chief Minister’s office to persuade the legislator to withdraw his resignation.
Patil said he had repeatedly appealed to the government to include Indi and Chadachan in the drought-hit list, but his requests had not been considered.
“Our words and feelings are no longer being given any importance,” Patil said, expressing disappointment over the government’s decision.
His resignation comes amid continuing dissatisfaction among Congress legislators over the declaration of drought-hit taluks in the state. Patil had earlier also expressed dissatisfaction after being denied a ministerial berth during the recent Cabinet expansion. At that time, he had said that honest and loyal party workers were no longer being valued and that he had been given assurances of a ministerial position, which were not fulfilled.
Following efforts by Chief Minister Shivakumar and senior Congress leaders, Patil subsequently withdrew his earlier resignation and continued as MLA.
The latest resignation is linked to the government’s decision not to include Indi and Chadachan in the drought-hit list.
Karnataka has so far declared 188 taluks as drought-affected in four phases under the drought-declaration guidelines framed by the Centre in 2020. The first phase covered 101 taluks, followed by 23 in the second phase, 53 in the third and 11 in the fourth phase.
Patil’s resignation led to heated exchanges in the Assembly. Former Home Minister and BJP MLA Araga Jnanendra raised the issue and demanded that the Speaker clarify the status of the resignation.
During the discussion, an exchange took place between Jnanendra and Health Minister U.T. Khader. Jnanendra questioned why Khader was intervening when the resignation letter had been submitted to the incumbent Speaker.
Leader of Opposition R. Ashoka also intervened and said he was speaking in his capacity as the Leader of Opposition about the resignation of a sitting MLA.
Ashoka said the BJP had a copy of Patil’s resignation letter and recalled that CM Shivakumar had earlier stated that resignations submitted by legislators would be accepted.
“Is the resignation now accepted? If so, does D.K. Shivakumar’s word have any value? If you have the courage, accept the resignation,” Ashoka challenged the government.
Responding to the Opposition, CM Shivakumar said there was no need for the BJP to panic and maintained that Patil’s resignation was connected to people’s concerns in his constituency.
“This is a resignation given for the sake of the people’s livelihood. The Prime Minister has also warned us about the drought situation,” CM Shivakumar said.
He said Patil had been under pressure because farmers in his constituency had borrowed money and invested in cultivation.
Shivakumar explained that there were established guidelines for declaring a taluk drought-affected and that the government could not arbitrarily declare an area drought-hit.
“There are guidelines for declaring a drought-hit area. The government cannot make such a declaration suddenly,” he said.
The Chief Minister said he had spoken to Patil and tried to pacify him.
“He came to me, and I consoled him. This is not a resignation like those submitted by former BJP leader K.S. Eshwarappa or former minister B. Nagendra. This is a resignation given for the sake of the people’s livelihood,” CM Shivakumar said.
He added that even senior leaders such as H.K. Patil were under pressure over the drought situation, and said it was not unusual for Yashwantharayagowda Patil to face pressure from people in his constituency.
However, Speaker G.S. Patil later clarified that he had not accepted the resignation submitted by the Indi MLA.
The Speaker said the resignation had not been accepted as it did not comply with the prescribed rules.
The developments have added to the discontent within the ruling Congress over the government’s handling of the drought situation, with the resignation becoming a major point of discussion in the Assembly.
