Siddaramaiah accuses Sitharaman of lying on drought relief fund to K'taka

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday alleged that Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman lied when she said that the drought relief fund was not released because the Model Code of Conduct is in force. Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Sitharaman sought to defend the Centre saying procedures to release funds had taken time by which time the MCC came into effect. She said that after the Karnataka government submitted a memorandum in October and the inter-ministerial central team conducted a spot assessment, the release of drought relief had to go through a few procedures and that it had taken time. According to the finance minister, the central authorities had written to the Election Commission on March 28 to get prior approval to convene a high-level committee, given that the Model Code of Conduct in force -- and the EC's approval is awaited with regard to the grant of drought relief. Siddaramaiah said the state had submitted its memorandum for drought relief in Decem