Bengaluru: The ruling Karnataka government’s decision to allocate Rs 10 crore for the rehabilitation of landslide victims in Kerala’s Wayanad, located on Karnataka’s border, has drawn heavy criticism from the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
On Monday, the Karnataka government tabled the third and final instalment of the FY 2025–26 supplementary estimates, aggregating to Rs 14,767.89 crore. This included Rs 10 crore for the “rehabilitation of 100 families affected by landslides in Meppadi, Wayanad district”—the second time that funds were allocated for this cause. The first Rs 10 crore was allocated in August 2025, and the total commitment is now Rs 20 crore.
Leader of Opposition and Bharatiya Janata Party leader R. Ashoka, terming Siddaramaiah the ‘Kerala CM’, slammed what he defined as “political servitude”. Bengaluru BJP MP Tejasvi Surya questioned the Karnataka Congress’s moral compass, accusing it of squandering crores on “election gimmicks” in poll-bound Kerala.
“There are problems with drinking water in the state, potholes have formed on the roads, and farmers are dying due to debt. Yet, what moral compass do you possess to squander crores upon crores of Kannadigas’ money for Kerala’s election gimmicks…,” Tejasvi Surya said in a post on X.
Ashoka said that Siddaramaiah was giving “rehabilitation gifts” beyond state boundaries to Wayanad landslide victims in poll-bound Kerala at the behest of Priyanka Gandhi, the MP from the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency.
“Is Siddaramaiah the Chief Minister of Karnataka or Kerala? At a time when Karnataka is struggling to clear dues to contractors, pay garbage management agencies, repair government schools, and ensure medicines in hospitals, the @INCKarnataka government has somehow found another Rs 10 crore for Wayanad, the constituency represented by Smt Priyanka Gandhi Vadra,” Ashoka said in a post Tuesday.
The criticism comes amid Siddaramaiah’s comments on the state’s financial challenges, though the Karnataka Chief Minister frames the issue as a “fight for rightful funds” from the central government.
Defending the allocation for Wayanad, Siddaramaiah earlier said, “…hundreds of people died. Should we not be humane? It is our dharma and responsibility to help.”
The highest allocations in the total supplementary estimates are for irrigation works, human-elephant conflict mitigation, and expenditure on government programmes.
The landslide is not the first natural calamity in Wayanad after which Siddaramaiah allocated relief funds, triggering a political slugfest.
In February 2023, after a 47-year-old farmer was trampled to death by a wild elephant in Kerala’s Wayanad, Karnataka allocated Rs 15 lakh as compensation, triggering Opposition attacks. In August 2025, his family told ThePrint that they had not received any money, stating, “They said they would give the money, but we later heard that the decision created controversy there.” Minister for Forest and Ecology Eshwar Khandre confirmed at the time that no compensation had been paid outside the state.
Siddaramaiah’s allocations for Wayanad raise questions, since the constituency is a Congress stronghold, where Priyanka Gandhi replaced Rahul Gandhi as MP in November 2024. But, it’s not only Kerala; Karnataka has also allocated relief funds for Himachal Pradesh (2023), Gujarat (2001), and Maharashtra (2012, 2019, 2021) after natural disasters.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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