Forest Minister’s volte face on compensation soon after Rahul Gandhi asked Karnataka to pay Rs. 15 lakh

Bengaluru: The BJP has accused the Karnataka Government of illegally allocating Rs. 15 lakh to the kin of a Kerala man who was killed by an elephant captured in Karnataka but later strayed into Kerala’s Wayanad.

With Congress leader Rahul Gandhi being the MP from Wayanad, the BJP’s Karnataka Unit President B.Y. Vijayendra alleged that the Congress government in Karnataka was misusing taxpayers’ money to curry favour with the former Party President.

“Illegally allocating State fund of Rs. 15 lakh to a deceased individual from Rahul Gandhi’s Wayanad Constituency, falsely blaming an elephant from Karnataka, is an appalling betrayal,” Vijayendra, an MLA from Shikaripura, said.

He said that amid crippling drought and hundreds of farmers committing suicides across Karnataka, the Congress government “shamelessly prioritised pleasing Rahul Gandhi over addressing the State’s         urgent needs.”

“CM Siddaramaiah and his cohorts must be held accountable for unethically looting Karnataka taxpayers’ money and State treasury to cater to the Congress High Command’s greed,” the BJP State Chief said. Amidst the Congress party’s struggle for survival, its Ministers are sparing no effort in plundering every last rupee of the State’s coffers, Vijayendra alleged.

Minister’s volte face: The tuskless male elephant (makhna) was captured in Belur taluk of Hassan district on Nov. 30, 2023, and translocated to the Bandipur Forest area. After more than two months, it was found that it had strayed into Wayanad.

On Feb. 10, a man was killed by the elephant in Wayanad and following this, elected representatives and the Government of Kerala had requested the Karnataka government to be largehearted and pay compensation for that case.

Initially, Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre had argued that elephants cannot be labelled ‘Karnataka elephant’ or ‘Kerala elephant’ since they are migratory in nature and refused to pay compensation.

However, soon after Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Wayanad, Khandre said the Karnataka Government has agreed to pay compensation to the Kerala man on par with the indemnity paid to the people of Karnataka killed by an elephant.