BJP-Congress politics in Karnataka, Kerala over man reportedly killed by elephant. Here's what happened
An elephant killed a Kerala man on February 10 in Wayanad
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has slammed the Congress government in the southern Indian state of Karnataka for “illegally allocating” INR 15 lakh ($18,000) to the family member of a Kerala man who was reportedly killed by an elephant in the Wayanad district. Notably, Wayanad in Kerala is the home constituency of MP Rahul Gandhi, the de-facto leader of Congress.
BJP's Karnataka unit president BY Vijayendra on Monday (Feb 19) claimed that the Karnataka government was misusing taxpayers' money "to curry favour" with the former party president.
"Illegally allocating state fund of ₹ 15 lakh to a deceased individual from Rahul Gandhi's Wayanad constituency, falsely blaming an elephant from Karnataka, is an appalling betrayal," Vijayendra, a legislator from Shikaripura, said on social media.
He also said that while the state was struggling from crippling drought, leading many farmers to commit suicide, the government is busy plundering every last rupee of the state's coffers.
How the controversy erupted?
It all started when an elephant killed Ajeesh Joseph Panachiyil on February 10 in Wayanad. The elephant, however, originally belonged to Karnataka before being captured in November 2023 and translocated to the Bandipur Forest area.
The elephant later made its way into Wayanad.
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The death of Ajeesh Joseph triggered tensions between residents of Pulpally and state forest authorities.
Visit of Rahul Gandhi
Sensing the tensions, the Wayanad MP broke away from his ongoing ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ (United India Justice March) and visited the family of the deceased on February 17.
Rahul Gandhi later called upon the Karnataka government to compensate the family of Ajeesh Joseph since the elephant was radio-collared in Karnataka.
“Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi called up the minister and spoke to him and said that on humanitarian grounds compensation should be paid to the family of the victim since an elephant radio-collared in Karnataka is involved in the incident. He requested payment of compensation on humanitarian grounds. An amount of Rs 15 lakh has been allocated,” officials in the Karnataka Forest Ministry were quoted as saying by Indian Express.
(With inputs from agencies)