Karnataka faces discrimination in distribution of resources from Centre: CM Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said that the state is facing discrimination in the distribution of resources from the Centre.
He also said that there is growing concern that Constitutional bodies like the Income Tax Department, Enforcement Directorate, CBI, and others are not working to uphold the true values of democracy and cooperative federalism as enshrined in the Constitution.
He said, every responsible citizen must raise their voice in this regard.
The Chief Minister made these observations while delivering his address at the 79th Independence Day celebrations here.
Siddaramaiah said his government has built its own development model, which is widely recognised as the "Karnataka Model of Development", and that its 'guarantee schemes' have got global recognition.
"The Basavadi Sharanas of the 12th century firmly believed that one must live by one's word. Guided by this principle, our government has built its own development model, now widely recognised as the Karnataka Model of Development," he said.
"It is a matter of pride that even Philemon Yang, the President of the United Nations General Assembly, visited Karnataka and wholeheartedly praised our Guarantee Schemes, giving them global recognition," he added.
Noting that surveys by leading national institutions have revealed a stark truth that the wealthiest 10 per cent of our population hold 80 per cent of the nation's wealth, yet they contribute only about 3 per cent of the GST collected, he said, the remaining 90 per cent ordinary people who work daily for food and clothing shoulder nearly 97 per cent of GST payments.
"How can any economy sustain itself under such circumstances? How can we fulfil the spirit of our Constitution? How can we reduce this growing inequality? These questions troubled us deeply. It is with the intention of finding answers to these questions that we launched the Guarantee Schemes and other welfare programmes," he added.
Highlighting that the guarantee schemes are transforming the trajectory of Karnataka's development, the CM said, soon after assuming office in May 2023, we began implementing these schemes in the form of Anna Bhagya, Shakti, Gruha Lakshmi, Gruha Jyothi, and Yuva Nidhi.
"So far, we have allocated more than Rs 96,000 crore for their implementation. Recently, we celebrated a milestone in the Shakti scheme with 500 crore free trips taken by women using government buses. These schemes, free from the exploitation of middlemen and delivered directly to the people, have not only raised per capita income but, according to several studies, have increased women's participation in the workforce by 23 per cent," he said.
In a major boost to public transport, the implementation of the Shakti scheme has been complemented by the Transport Department's induction of 5,049 new buses of various models and the recruitment of 8,473 personnel, significantly enhancing service capacity and reach across the state, he added.
Highlighting that Karnataka now ranks first in the country in per capita income, Siddaramaiah said, over the past decade, the state has achieved a growth of 101 per cent in this indicator from Rs 1,01,858 at constant prices in 2013-14 to Rs 2,04,605 in 2024-25.
"Our government is spending more than Rs 1.12 lakh crore on welfare measures including Guarantee Schemes, subsidies, incentives, scholarships, social security pensions, and other social programmes," he said.
Noting that to truly understand people's living conditions, the government decided to conduct a social and educational survey of the backward classes through the Backward Classes Commission, the CM said, only accurate data can shape policies that transform lives and future schemes which can provide special representation and targeted justice.
"To ignore this would be to betray both our Constitution and our freedom struggle. Hence our government is serious about internal reservation within the Scheduled Castes and conducting a socio-educational survey of the backward classes," he added.
Siddaramaiah during his speech said, the nation will forever remember, with indebtedness, those who were martyred in the recent terrorist attack in Pahalgam and in the subsequent conflict between India and Pakistan.
"We bow our heads in humble respect to their indomitable courage and supreme sacrifice," he said.
Bengaluru, Aug 15 (PTI) Karnataka Chief Minister on Friday said that the state is facing discrimination in the distribution of resources from the Centre.
He also said that there is growing concern that Constitutional bodies like the Income Tax Department, Enforcement Directorate, CBI, and others are not working to uphold the true values of democracy and cooperative federalism as enshrined in the Constitution.
He said, every responsible citizen must raise their voice in this regard.
The Chief Minister made these observations while delivering his address at the 79th Independence Day celebrations here.
Siddaramaiah said his government has built its own development model, which is widely recognised as the "Karnataka Model of Development", and that its 'guarantee schemes' have got global recognition.
"The Basavadi Sharanas of the 12th century firmly believed that one must live by one's word. Guided by this principle, our government has built its own development model, now widely recognised as the Karnataka Model of Development," he said.
"It is a matter of pride that even Philemon Yang, the President of the United Nations General Assembly, visited Karnataka and wholeheartedly praised our Guarantee Schemes, giving them global recognition," he added.
Noting that surveys by leading national institutions have revealed a stark truth that the wealthiest 10 per cent of our population hold 80 per cent of the nation's wealth, yet they contribute only about 3 per cent of the GST collected, he said, the remaining 90 per cent ordinary people who work daily for food and clothing shoulder nearly 97 per cent of GST payments.
"How can any economy sustain itself under such circumstances? How can we fulfil the spirit of our Constitution? How can we reduce this growing inequality? These questions troubled us deeply. It is with the intention of finding answers to these questions that we launched the Guarantee Schemes and other welfare programmes," he added.
Highlighting that the guarantee schemes are transforming the trajectory of Karnataka's development, the CM said, soon after assuming office in May 2023, we began implementing these schemes in the form of Anna Bhagya, Shakti, Gruha Lakshmi, Gruha Jyothi, and Yuva Nidhi.
"So far, we have allocated more than Rs 96,000 crore for their implementation. Recently, we celebrated a milestone in the Shakti scheme with 500 crore free trips taken by women using government buses. These schemes, free from the exploitation of middlemen and delivered directly to the people, have not only raised per capita income but, according to several studies, have increased women's participation in the workforce by 23 per cent," he said.
In a major boost to public transport, the implementation of the Shakti scheme has been complemented by the Transport Department's induction of 5,049 new buses of various models and the recruitment of 8,473 personnel, significantly enhancing service capacity and reach across the state, he added.
Highlighting that Karnataka now ranks first in the country in per capita income, Siddaramaiah said, over the past decade, the state has achieved a growth of 101 per cent in this indicator from Rs 1,01,858 at constant prices in 2013-14 to Rs 2,04,605 in 2024-25.
"Our government is spending more than Rs 1.12 lakh crore on welfare measures including Guarantee Schemes, subsidies, incentives, scholarships, social security pensions, and other social programmes," he said.
Noting that to truly understand people's living conditions, the government decided to conduct a social and educational survey of the backward classes through the Backward Classes Commission, the CM said, only accurate data can shape policies that transform lives and future schemes which can provide special representation and targeted justice.
"To ignore this would be to betray both our Constitution and our freedom struggle. Hence our government is serious about internal reservation within the Scheduled Castes and conducting a socio-educational survey of the backward classes," he added.
Siddaramaiah during his speech said, the nation will forever remember, with indebtedness, those who were martyred in the recent terrorist attack in Pahalgam and in the subsequent conflict between India and Pakistan.
"We bow our heads in humble respect to their indomitable courage and supreme sacrifice," he said.
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Single higher education regulator bill tabled in LS; Oppn flags ‘centralisation,' JPC likely
New Delhi: A bill to set up a 13-member body to regulate institutions of higher education was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan introduced the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, which seeks to establish an overarching higher education commission along with three councils for regulation, accreditation, and ensuring academic standards for universities and higher education institutions in India.
Meanwhile, the move drew strong opposition, with members warning that it could weaken institutional autonomy and result in excessive centralisation of higher education in India.
The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, earlier known as the Higher Education Council of India (HECI) Bill, has been introduced in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The proposed legislation seeks to merge three existing regulatory bodies, the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), into a single unified body called the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan.
At present, the UGC regulates non-technical higher education institutions, the AICTE oversees technical education, and the NCTE governs teacher education in India.
Under the proposed framework, the new commission will function through three separate councils responsible for regulation, accreditation, and the maintenance of academic standards across universities and higher education institutions in the country.
According to the Bill, the present challenges faced by higher educational institutions due to the multiplicity of regulators having non-harmonised regulatory approval protocols will be done away with.
The higher education commission, which will be headed by a chairperson appointed by the President of India, will cover all central universities and colleges under it, institutes of national importance functioning under the administrative purview of the Ministry of Education, including IITs, NITs, IISc, IISERs, IIMs, and IIITs.
At present, IITs and IIMs are not regulated by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
Government to refer bill to JPC; Oppn slams it
The government has expressed its willingness to refer it to a joint committee after several members of the Lok Sabha expressed strong opposition to the Bill, stating that they were not given time to study its provisions.
Responding to the opposition, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government intends to refer the Bill to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for detailed examination.
Congress Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari warned that the Bill could result in “excessive centralisation” of higher education. He argued that the proposed law violates the constitutional division of legislative powers between the Union and the states.
According to him, the Bill goes beyond setting academic standards and intrudes into areas such as administration, affiliation, and the establishment and closure of university campuses. These matters, he said, fall under Entry 25 of the Concurrent List and Entry 32 of the State List, which cover the incorporation and regulation of state universities.
Tewari further stated that the Bill suffers from “excessive delegation of legislative power” to the proposed commission. He pointed out that crucial aspects such as accreditation frameworks, degree-granting powers, penalties, institutional autonomy, and even the supersession of institutions are left to be decided through rules, regulations, and executive directions. He argued that this amounts to a violation of established constitutional principles governing delegated legislation.
Under the Bill, the regulatory council will have the power to impose heavy penalties on higher education institutions for violating provisions of the Act or related rules. Penalties range from ₹10 lakh to ₹75 lakh for repeated violations, while establishing an institution without approval from the commission or the state government could attract a fine of up to ₹2 crore.
Concerns were also raised by members from southern states over the Hindi nomenclature of the Bill. N.K. Premachandran, an MP from the Revolutionary Socialist Party representing Kollam in Kerala, said even the name of the Bill was difficult to pronounce.
He pointed out that under Article 348 of the Constitution, the text of any Bill introduced in Parliament must be in English unless Parliament decides otherwise.
DMK MP T.M. Selvaganapathy also criticised the government for naming laws and schemes only in Hindi. He said the Constitution clearly mandates that the nomenclature of a Bill should be in English so that citizens across the country can understand its intent.
Congress MP S. Jothimani from Tamil Nadu’s Karur constituency described the Bill as another attempt to impose Hindi and termed it “an attack on federalism.”
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