Demonetisation a failed experiment: Yashwant Sinha
‘A view on present Indian economic condition’
Bengaluru, August 29: Former finance minister Yashwant Sinha opined that the demonetisation introduced by the Narendra Modi government at the centre was a failed experiment due to which unorganized labourers and small industries were affected.
Speaking on ‘A view on present Indian economic condition’, organized by the Rashtriya Nava Nirmana Vedike to mark the 92nd birthday of former chief minister Ramakrishna Hegde, at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan here on Wednesday, he said that the central government had promised of bringing back the black money by implementing the demonetisation. But after demonetisation, 99.4 per cent of money has returned to the RBI. Then where the black money went, he asked.
During UPA tenure, the loan amount due for banks was Rs 2 lakh crore. But in the Narendra Modi government, it has gone up to Rs 14 lakh crore. Both the RBI and the central government have completely failed to recover the loans availed by the big industrialists and businessmen, he said.
The data of all departments including Finance Department, Labour department and others were not genuine. The central government has tried to manipulate the data and doing politics. The centre has been creating false data on job creation to mislead the people, he said.
Revenue Minister R V Deshpande also spoke on the occasion. Senior journalist Satyanarayan, Vijayamma and Desai were felicitated. Journalist Sugata Srinivasa Raju, Legislative Council Chairman Basavaraj Horatti, Vedike president Mamatha Nichani and others were present.
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Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah accuses EC of ‘bias’, defends state guarantee schemes ahead of bypolls
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has accused the EC of "double standards" and "bias" after it sought details on the state’s guarantee schemes in Davanagere and Bagalkot districts, where bypolls are scheduled for Thursday.
In a post on 'X' on Wednesday, Siddaramaiah said the Election Commission of India had asked the Karnataka government for information on fund releases under five ongoing guarantee schemes in the constituencies going to polls.
The polls were necessitated following the deaths of senior Congress MLAs Shamanur Shivashankarappa and H Y Meti, respectively.
The schemes are Gruha Jyothi, which provides 200 units of free electricity to every household; Gruha Lakshmi, offering Rs 2,000 to women heading families; and Anna Bhagya, supplying 10 kg of rice per month to each member of BPL families.
In addition, Yuva Nidhi grants Rs 3,000 to unemployed graduates and Rs 1,500 to unemployed diploma holders aged 18–25 for two years, while Shakti enables women to travel free of charge within Karnataka on government non-luxury buses.
Siddaramaiah alleged that the ECI had remained silent when similar cash transfer schemes were announced in Maharashtra and Bihar ahead of elections, calling the scrutiny of Karnataka’s schemes a "clear case of bias".
"In states like Maharashtra and Bihar, cash transfer schemes were announced or fast-tracked just before elections, directly benefiting voters. Yet the ECI remained silent. This is not neutrality—it is complicity," he said.
The CM accused the BJP and NDA governments of "a double standard", noting that when they act, the ECI "looks the other way", but when Karnataka fulfils its promises, it faces "intense scrutiny".
He added that targeting the state’s guarantee schemes is "not just political but anti-poor, anti-women, and anti-Karnataka."
Siddaramaiah clarified that these schemes were not launched in connection with the bypolls but are ongoing programmes implemented as part of the Congress government’s commitments from the 2023 Assembly elections.
Funds are transferred regularly to beneficiaries in a transparent and structured manner, he added.
"The guarantees are part of governance—a direct investment in human dignity, household stability, and economic participation, not inducement," he said.
He also accused the BJP of "hypocrisy", saying that while it criticises Karnataka’s schemes as "freebies", it rolls out similar programmes in states it governs.
"The Karnataka model has set a benchmark for the country. What is deeply concerning, however, is the ECI’s selective approach," Siddaramaiah added.
