Bengaluru: Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge on Saturday urged the Centre to provide relief to the state's farmers affected by drought, saying the government was seeking simplified norms and adequate assistance from the Union government.

Three central teams on Saturday arrived in Bengaluru to assess the drought situation in the state. Karnataka has said that 177 out of 217 Taluks of the state have been declared drought-hit.

"We will showcase (to the central teams) whatever the facts are and put them forth. We are estimating losses running into tens of thousands of crores, including crop losses. We are putting these before the Central team. We are asking them very clearly to simplify and strengthen the norms. Only then will we be able to help the farmers," Kharge told reporters here.

The minister said the state government had been focusing on relief measures for farmers and had announced an input subsidy of Rs 2,500.

"What is the Central government doing? What are the MPs doing? Pralhad Joshi ji has an opinion about everything that happens in Karnataka except Karnataka's farmers," Kharge said.

He said the state had completed its ground-truthing exercise and prepared various reports, and urged the Centre's team to visit Karnataka and assess the situation.

"Our appeal to the Central government is: Please look at this from a humanitarian perspective. If you simply go by some predetermined norms, no drought will ever be declared, and no farmer will be helped," he said.

Kharge also criticised the Centre over tax devolution and grants, saying Karnataka contributes substantially in taxes and should receive assistance commensurate with its contribution.

"We pay a substantial amount in taxes. If we are given devolution and grants commensurate with that, it will help us deal with drought and also support infrastructure in other ways. They have rejected that," he said.

He said the 16th Finance Commission had made some effort to assist, but the state's hands were tied when drought occurred because relief norms were determined by the Centre.

"The Central government is supposed to provide the relief," Kharge said.

He also appealed to Union ministers and BJP leaders from Karnataka to join the state government in seeking assistance from the Centre.

"Let us all unite for the people of Karnataka. Let us go to the Central government. We don't have to go with a begging bowl. We pay taxes. We are one of the growth engines of the nation," he said.

Kharge said the issue should be treated as one concerning the interests of Karnataka rather than party politics.

"When there are taxes, is there no relationship? They take our taxes, but they don't remember the relationship then," he said, stressing the need to uphold the federal structure without discrimination.

He also took a swipe at BJP leaders, saying they should raise Karnataka's farmers' issues with the Centre with the same vigour they displayed while criticising the state government.

"They have time to do bhajan clubbing for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. They don't have time to look at the floods in Bihar or even ask about the condition of Karnataka's farmers," Kharge said.