CM Siddaramaiah reaches out to people with mass grievance redressal programme in Bengaluru
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday held grievance redressal programme "Janaspandana", reaching out directly to people to address their concerns and issues with promise of speedy solutions, in front of the Vidhana Soudha, the seat of state legislature and secretariat here.
The Chief Minister had held a similar exercise on November 27 last year at his home office 'Krishna'.
In what is billed to be the first such mass grievance redressal programme held on the premises of Vidhana Soudha, department-wise stalls were set up at the venue to help the aggrieved citizens, who came to seek redressal of their issues.
Earlier Chief Ministers have held such events elsewhere like the home office and official residence.
Siddaramaiah instructed the officials to dispose of the applications received from the people, who came from different parts of the State, within three months, official sources said.
The Chief Minister was seen personally meeting the people with grievances, especially those with disabilities, having health issues, elderly, and women. He received applications from them, assuring them of appropriate response at the earliest, while directing officials concerned to address them on priority.
According to the Chief Minister's office, people had started pouring into Vidhana Soudha from faraway places the previous night itself.
"The application registration process began ahead of schedule at 8.30 am, and realising the arrival of people at Revenue Department Counter more than expected, organisers opened another counter for applicants for Revenue Department and made seating arrangements," it said.
Till 12 noon, there were 7,961 registrations, officials said.
Elaborate security arrangements were made by the Police, led by Bengaluru Central DCP Shekhar H Tekkannavar. A total of 936 police personnel -- eight ACPs, 23 Inspectors, 58 Sub-Inspectors, 205 Police Constables, 142 Woman Police Constables, 500 Home Guards -- were deployed, in view of the large number of people gathering at the venue.
According to an official statement, each stall has been assigned with a number and nodal officers have also been appointed to take first hand information from the citizens and direct them to the suitable departments for further clarification.
Nodal officers have been provided with a register to take note of the aggrieved citizen's name and other details, including phone numbers and referred stall number, for future references too, it said.
During the Janaspandana held in November, 4,030 applications were received from aggrieved persons, and 3,738 grievances have so far been addressed, it said.
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Among developing states, TN leads with growth of 11.19 per cent, no thanks to BJP: Udhayanidhi
Thanjavur/Pudukottai (PTI): Tamil Nadu currently stands as the number one state among India’s developing regions, boasting a significant growth rate of 11.19 per cent, despite a stark lack of support from the BJP-led union government, Deputy Chief Minister Udhyanidhi Stalin said on Sunday.
"The central administration has failed to provide requested projects or the funds rightfully due to the state. This neglect reached a peak in the last Union Budget, where the name "Tamil Nadu" was entirely absent, with no new projects allocated to the region," Udhayanidhi told the gathered crowd at Peravurani in Thanjavur.
He also accused the central government of "attempting to undermine" the state's cultural identity by re-imposing a 'Three-Language Policy' and pushing Hindi and Sanskrit into the territory.
"While these threats loom, the opposition leader, Edappadi Palaniswami, remains silent. Instead of questioning these injustices, he has formed an alliance with the BJP, effectively facilitating the entry of these policies into Tamil Nadu," the Deputy Chief Minister added.
According to him, the upcoming assembly election presents a critical opportunity for the people to respond to this continuous neglect.
"It is time for the voters to decide whether to support the Tamil Nadu team or a Delhi team that ignores the state’s developmental needs and linguistic heritage," he added.
Earlier, speaking at Viralimalai in Pudukottai, he argued that this election "is a war between the Delhi Team and the Tamil Nadu Team".
"We are the Tamil Nadu Team...we must send Delhi Team back to where they came from with a decisive win," he said.
He urged the electorate to break the "remote control" Delhi uses to try and control Tamil Nadu.
Udhayanidhi attacked the opposition, specifically targeting incumbent MLA and AIADMK candidate C Vijayabaskar by calling him a "drama company actor", who is part of a "slave group" being threatened by the CBI and ED.
The deputy CM listed the infrastructure and welfare achievements of the "Dravidian Model" government, specifically mentioning quality road works worth Rs 25 crore for 30 km and drinking water connections worth Rs 17 crore in the region.
He also claimed that the DMK revived the laptop scheme for college students after the AIADMK abandoned it in 2019.
Looking toward a second term, he promised that the government would increase the women's entitlement amount to Rs 2,000 and build Rs 10 lakh houses under the 'Kalaignar Kanavu Illam' initiative for those without homes.
Invoking his political lineage, he told the local cadre to set a high target, noting that while the party lost the seat by a narrow margin previously, this time DMK must win by a margin of "50,000 votes to drive away the slave group".
