Bajrang Dal ban: Priyank Kharge dares BJP to disturb peace in Karnataka
Bengaluru: Congress MLA Priyank Kharge has warned the BJP that it will have to face a stringent act of law if it dares to destroy peace in the society.
Addressing reporters here, Kharge said, “The BJP has lost its sense of discretion. It has been daring the Congress to show its power by banning the Bajrang Dal. I challenge the BJP members to violate the law if they are indeed capable of doing so. They will only have to face the law as per the Constitution of India, given by Dr. BR Ambedkar, if they indulge in such violation.”
Referring to promises made during election campaigns, Kharge said, “The BJP leaders themselves have admitted that they fulfilled barely 50 of the 600 promises made to the people. Then, are we (Congress) expected to learn from them?”
He pointed out that since no government scheme can be implemented without any condition or criterion, it was meaningless of the BJP to question the conditions tagged with the guarantees of the Congress government. Kharge added that the BJP’s criticism of the conditions put forth by the Congress government is a reflection of its senselessness.
“We will successfully fulfil the five guarantees assured to the people. It is barely a fortnight since the Congress took charge in the state. When the voters too are aware that the implementation of a scheme takes time, why is the BJP so desperate?” the legislator asked.
Speaking about the government and the Opposition, Kharge said, “The Cabinet has already been formed, with all the 34 ministers taking oath. The BJP, however, is yet to decide on who its leader in the Opposition will be. The BJP should complete their internal work before criticizing the works of the Congress government.”
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BJP stages walkout in Karnataka assembly over 'non-disbursal' of Gruha Lakshmi payout
Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): The opposition BJP on Wednesday staged a walkout from the Karnataka assembly protesting the alleged "non-disbursal" of two months' installments to 1.26 crore beneficiaries under a woman's assistance scheme of the state government.
The protest followed a heated debate in which the opposition accused the state government of providing "misleading" information regarding the payment status of the flagship Gruha Lakshmi scheme.
The saffron party members trooped into the well of the House and raised slogans, leading to the adjournment of the proceedings of the House for over an hour.
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The Gruha Lakshmi guarantee scheme is one of the five pre-poll promises of the ruling Congress. It provides Rs 2,000 monthly to women heads of the Below Poverty Line (BPL) families.
The BJP legislators accused Woman and Child Welfare Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar of having "misled" the House by giving false information to BJP MLA Mahesh Tenginkai that all the instalments till August have been paid under the scheme.
The opposition charged that the installments for the months of February and March this year were not paid.
The BJP MLAs' grouse was that they had been demanding an explanation from the Minister for the past three days, but she never turned up to provide information.
As soon as the session started, the opposition members trooped into the well of the House demanding the Minister's presence, which led to the adjournment.
When the members assembled again, the Minister replied that this is a unique flagship programme of the Congress government, which is a model for all the states.
Hebbalkar said she always strived to ensure that this scheme is implemented religiously.
"However, when I checked, I noticed that two months' installments were not paid to the beneficiaries through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). If my reply has hurt anyone, then I express my regret," she said.
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who came to the defence of Hebbalkar, said the BJP should apologise for the lie in the Union Budget.
"Despite the Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announcing Rs 5,300 crore for the Upper Bhadra Irrigation Project in the budget, the money was not given to Karnataka. You should question that as well," Shivakumar underlined.
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To this, Leader of Opposition in the assembly R Ashoka said the matter was raised because not only were the BJP members hurt but also the 1.26 crore beneficiaries who were eagerly waiting for the money.
Demanding that the lie be expunged from the House records, he insisted on a date for when the backlog will be paid to the beneficiaries.
The Minister said she was apologising for giving a wrong reply, but she was peeved at the way a woman was targeted in the House.
Objecting to this statement, BJP MLA S Suresh Kumar asked her to refrain from playing victim card and bring up the issue of gender, caste and religious discrimination as it was a matter related to 1.26 crore people.
Ashoka and the BJP MLAs then staged a walkout, saying the Minister's reply was not satisfactory.
