The Congress in Karnataka is planning an agitation against the BJP-led central government over what it calls a delay in granting drought relief. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, requesting them to expedite the process and enable early release of funds from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF). The Congress plans to launch protests in New Delhi and Bengaluru to counter the BJP and JD(S) teams visiting Karnataka to study drought issues. The state government has declared drought in several taluks and submitted a memorandum to the Centre seeking relief. However, the inter-ministerial team’s report is yet to be vetted by the agriculture minister’s committee and the high-level committee headed by the Union home minister for the release of funds. The Congress intends to make the delay in relief a key issue in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.