Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislators on Thursday, 24 September staged a walkout from the Karnataka Assembly to protest the state government's drought relief package, with Leader of Opposition R. Ashoka accusing the Congress administration of insulting farmers by offering just ₹2,500 per family — a fraction of what the opposition had demanded.

What Triggered the Walkout

The BJP's exit came at the close of a three-day special session of the Assembly convened specifically to deliberate on Karnataka's severe drought situation. Despite the extended deliberations, the state government's announced relief was capped at ₹2,500 per family, far short of the BJP's stated demand of ₹50,000 per acre for crop-loss compensation.

Speaking to reporters after the walkout, Ashoka was blunt in his criticism. 'The Congress government should be ashamed of claiming that it has wiped farmers' tears by giving them ₹2,500. There is money to send to the party high command, but no money to give farmers,' he alleged. He also argued that even if the government could not meet the BJP's ₹50,000-per-acre demand, it should provide at minimum ₹25,000 per acre.

The Scale of Farmer Distress

Ashoka pointed out that cultivating a single acre costs between ₹20,000 and ₹30,000 when seeds, ploughing, labour, weeding, and irrigation expenses are combined. He noted that the Gruha Lakshmi scheme already provides ₹2,000 to households, making the ₹2,500 drought relief only marginally higher — and, he argued, lower than what a daily-wage worker could earn in the same period.

The number of drought-affected taluks in Karnataka has risen to 177, Ashoka said, and more could be added. He described farmers as unable to access their fields, with cattle forced towards forests due to lack of fodder, and farm families sending their children to cities in search of employment.

BJP's Demands and Political Escalation

The opposition leader appealed directly to Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar to enhance the relief package, framing the issue as a test of whether the government stands with farmers during a crisis. 'Farmers are not people who beg. They are the food providers of this country… Giving them ₹2,500 and projecting it as a major achievement is an insult to their self-respect,' Ashoka said.

He announced that the BJP would escalate its agitation, vowing to take the farmers' cause to 'the people's court' and publicly challenge the Congress government's credentials as a pro-farmer administration. 'This fight will not end here,' he warned.

A Note of Unity on Kasturirangan

Despite the sharp confrontation over drought relief, Ashoka indicated that the BJP would stand with the state government on the separate and sensitive question of the Kasturirangan report, saying Karnataka's collective interest would guide the party's position on that issue. He drew a clear distinction between that bipartisan solidarity and the government's accountability on drought compensation, from which he said 'the state government cannot escape its responsibility.'

With the BJP pledging continued street agitation and the Congress yet to respond publicly to the walkout, the political contest over Karnataka's drought-hit farming community is set to intensify in the days ahead.