Political Faceoff Erupts Over Karnataka's Compensation To Kerala Man Killed By Elephant

The Karnataka Congress government has decided to offer Rs 15 lakhs in compensation to the family of a man killed by an elephant from the state. The incident occurred in AICC leader Rahul Gandhi's Lok Sabha constituency of Wayanad in Kerala. Gandhi, who interrupted his scheduled Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra as part of his Lok Sabha campaign to visit the victim's family, had appealed to the Karnataka government for humanitarian assistance. This move by the Karnataka government comes ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, where the ruling Left Democratic Front in Kerala is a part of the Congress' INDIA alliance at the national level but a regional rival.

In a letter to Gandhi, Karnataka's forest minister Eshwar Khandre mentioned plans to hold a meeting with the forest departments of Kerala and Tamil Nadu to devise an action plan to prevent man-animal conflicts. The minister highlighted that Karnataka has the highest number of elephants in India, at 6,395, and noted the increasing conflict due to diminishing forest cover and elephants encroaching on human habitats.

However, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has criticized the Karnataka government for "illegally allocating" Rs 15 lakhs to the victim's family, accusing them of trying to gain favor with Rahul Gandhi. According to BJP's Karnataka president B Y Vijayendra, the Congress government in Karnataka has misused taxpayers' money for political gain.

Vijayendra expressed his disapproval, stating, "Illegally allocating state fund of Rs 15 lakh to a deceased individual from Rahul Gandhi's Wayanad constituency, falsely blaming an elephant from Karnataka, is an appalling betrayal". He criticized the Congress government for prioritizing political interests over addressing the state's urgent needs, such as severe drought conditions and farmer suicides.

The incident involved an elephant that had been radio-collared in Karnataka's Hassan district and was translocated to Bandipur forest on the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu-Kerala border in November last year. The victim, Ajeesh, was trampled to death by the elephant on February 10 in Wayanad's Mananthavady area, leading to protests from local residents. Khandre argued against labeling elephants as "Karnataka elephant" or "Kerala elephant," citing their migratory nature.