The stand-off between the BJP Government in Karnataka and the Opposition parties—the Congress and the JD(S)—over fertiliser shortage refused to die down with Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on Wednesday threatening to stage a protest before Parliament if the Opposition continued to stall house proceedings.The Congress and the JD(S) staged walkouts on Wednesday demanding a joint house committee to probe farmers’ suicides allegedly due to fertiliser shortages.An agitated Yeddyurappa, who had earlier challenged the Opposition to get fertiliser and said he would give a draft of Rs 500 crore for the cause, argued that the UPA Government had not released enough stocks of fertilisers to Karnataka despite assurances.Opposition leader Mallikarjun Kharge produced details of fertiliser releases ordered by the Centre from the website of the Ministry of Fertilisers and argued that the state Government had failed to set up an apt distribution mechanism.Former chief minister and JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy said fertiliser stocks meant for Haveri district — where a farmer was killed in police firing during protests over the shortages — was diverted to the Chief Minister’s home constituency of Shikharipur.The Congress and the JD(S) have refused to yield to anything other than a joint House Committee probe on the fertiliser shortages issue.
