Belagavi, Dec 11 : Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs are staging protests and obstructing the proceedings of the assembly only to divert people's attention from their party's internal conflicts and the Central government's failure to provide drought relief, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah said on Monday. Addressing the Legislative Session in Belagavi, he said that they seem to have no concern for the people of the state. Such irresponsible behavior of elected representatives is the reason people are frustrated with political parties and leaders. The main purpose of conducting a session of the legislative assembly once a year in Suvarna Soudha, Belagavi, is to discuss and find solutions to the pressing issues of the people of North Karnataka. By not allowing such discussions, the BJP legislators are acting as traitors to the people of North Karnataka, he charged. There is a severe drought in the state. The state government is carrying out relief work without any compromise. There is a drought situation in 223 taluks. We have requested Rs 18,171 crore from the Central government for drought relief. There has been crop loss in 48.19 lakh hectares. We have asked for Rs 4,663 crore for compensation for the crop loss, he informed. "We first appealed to the Centre for drought relief on September 21. The Central team came and surveyed and also submitted a report. The Central government has not yet responded to the state's request. There is no response to the letters we have written. Even our request to meet the Prime Minister has been denied," he stated. The BJP leaders fooled the people of Karnataka in the name of Double Engine. Unfortunately, the 25 BJP Lok Sabha MPs from Karnataka have not opened their mouths till now, Siddaramaiah said. A discussion on the drought in the assembly will expose the apathy of the Central government towards Karnataka. The BJP MLAs are scared of this and hence they don't want any discussion in the assembly, he stated. R Ashoka, elected as the Leader of the Opposition, does not even have the support of the majority of his party's legislators who are openly opposing him, he said. People like Basavanagouda Patil Yatnal, who are frustrated about not getting a position, are openly criticizing everyone from B.S. Yediyurappa to R. Ashoka. The people of the state, who are observing these issues within the BJP, are criticising BJP legislators everywhere. This has made the BJP legislators unable to face the public, and they are trying to divert people's attention by obstructing the assembly proceedings, Siddaramaiah stated. The purpose of calling a legislative assembly session is to critique the governance of the state government. If the government has erred in its duty or made mistakes, it is the job of the opposition parties to highlight them. The BJP legislators lack this courage, he stated. We do not talk about annihilating the opposition like Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We want a competent opposition. Hence, I request BJP legislators to stop their unnecessary protests and participate in the assembly proceedings, he said. /IANS