Govt. is committed to develop entire Karnataka: CM Kumaraswamy
72nd Independence Day celebrations at Manekshaw Parade Grounds
Bengaluru, August 15: Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy who hoisted the tricolour as part of the 72nd Independence Day at the Manekshaw Parade Grounds here on Wednesday, wished the people of the state on the occasion of the Independence Day.
Quoting the lyrics of Rashtrakavi Kuvempu- “Bharata Bhoomi Nanna Thayi Nanna Poreva Tottilu, Jeevanavene Devigereve Bidute Gudia Kattalu”-, the Chief Minister said that “nonviolence is the most influential weapon that the world has ever seen. We are representing the heroic tradition which fought for independence through non-violence. India is the front runner in achieving the unity in diversity among other countries. I sincerely bow my head to all freedom fighters including Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Lokmanya Tilak, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Dr BR Ambedkar and others for their sacrifice for the independence”, he said.
“Our government is committed to develop Karnataka without giving room for damaging the unity of the state. The budgets presented by the previous government and my government are complementary to the comprehensive development of the state. My government is ready to implement all the programmes mentioned in the budget”, he promised.
Independent India was built on the basis of the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi. Now, the country was celebrating the 150th Gandhi Jayanti. As a preamble to this celebration, the government has planned stage around 1000 theatre shows across the state under the title ‘Gandhi-150, a theatre journey’. In the same way, the country was in the threshold of celebrating the 125th anniversary of Swami Vivekananda’s speech at all faith conference in Chicago. The state government was planning to celebrate this occasion also, he said.
“I have close relationship with Belagavi. I have the credit of beginning the Assembly Session in Belagavi. I have laid the foundation stone for Suvarna Soudha in Belagavi. Most importantly, I have started my much ambitious programme ‘village stay’ from Belagavi district. The government is planning to shift some of the departments to my beloved district”, he said.
The CM said that the state government was committed to protect the interests of Kannadigas living in other states especially Goa, Kerala and Maharashtra and would have cordial relationship with those states.
One of the priorities of his government was to ensure permanent solutions to the farmers problems and creating job opportunities to the hands. It was the long pending demand from the farming community to waive off the loans. Now, his government has responded positively to that demand and the government has decided to waive off around 49,000 crore loans availed from cooperative banks and nationalized banks. No other states in the country have taken such a decision to waive off the farm loans. Already, the government has declared waiver off loans availed from cooperative sector and 20.38 lakh farmers would get the benefit. Shortly, another order would be issued to waive off the loans availed from nationalized banks, he said.
It was not fair to do politics in the name of farmers. Farm loan waiver was not the only solution to the farmers problems. It was an effort to instill confidence among them. The government was thinking about on how to make the agriculture a sustainable and profitable sector, he said.
He had participated in a paddy transplanting in Sitapura in Mandya district. Due to shortage of water, the paddy cultivation was affected in the district for the last three years. This time, because of the sufficient rain, the farmers were happy and he had participated in their happiness. He has decided to conduct such programme once in a month in all districts to educate the farmers on modern agriculture pattern and instill confidence among them, he said.
Thanks to the rain God that all reservoirs were full this time. This year, the state could get more power from hydel power generation units. The 370 MW capacity gas-based power unit at Yelahanka would commission its service this year. In order to strengthen the power transmission, the Energy department would set up 35 new power substations and lay more than 800 km power lines to ensure sufficient power to all sectors, he said.
Education should not be a commodity. The government has decided to provide all needed basic infrastructure for government schools and colleges and increase the students attendance. The government held many meetings regarding this issue and decided to modernize all schools. It was planned to give complete education to rural girls and bring them to the mainstream. To achieve this, it was planned to set up separate residential colleges for girls, he added.
State highway development
In the third phase, total 3,831 km state highways would be developed and in the fourth stage, 2,722 km road would be developed at a cost of Rs 3,480 crore. Because of heavy rains, the roads in coastal region and Malnad region were damaged, bridges were collapsed in many places. For the benefit of the public and school children, total 451 small connecting bridges would be constructed, he said.
In order to ensure hassle-free traffic movement in the Capital city, efforts were on to take up the Metro second stage, peripheral ring road and satellite town train project. Steps would also be taken to protect the tanks and scientific disposal of waste in the Capital city, he said.
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Kharge says LPG crisis due to govt's lack of planning, BJP accuses Cong of creating anarchy
New Delhi (PTI): Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday held the government responsible for the current LPG crisis by not taking preemptive measures, evoking a sharp counter from Union Minister J P Nadda, who accused the Congress of trying to create anarchy in the country and indulging in politics instead.
Raising the matter during the Zero Hour in the House, Kharge accused the government of not doing advance planning and making alternative arrangements for LPG imports as the government "knew" that the West Asia crisis could impact critical maritime routes and energy supplies.
Rebutting him strongly, Nadda, who is also Leader of the House, accused opposition parties, especially Congress, of not standing with the people but of instigating them.
"The LPG crisis has caused widespread panic across the entire nation. Its impact is severely affecting the poor and vulnerable sections, the middle class, ordinary households, restaurants, hostels, and commercial users," Kharge said.
India imports nearly 60 per cent of its total LPG requirements. Of this, 90 per cent of imports pass through the Strait of Hormuz. From this perspective, Kharge said the current situation has become a matter of serious concern for both domestic availability and price stability.
He said the effects of the LPG crisis are being felt in nearly every part of the country, and people in households are distressed.
Kharge sought to highlight that small roadside eateries, restaurants, hostels — all are impacted. From community kitchens to Ram Rasoi, everything has shut down. Not just homes — MSMEs and other commercial users are facing severe difficulties in obtaining LPG cylinders.
"It is concerning that many establishments have limited or completely halted their operations. Some are purchasing at exorbitant rates, over Rs 5,000 per cylinder," the senior Congress leader claimed.
Kharge further said that the Union Petroleum Minister had claimed in the Lok Sabha that there is no shortage of LPG and called for caution against rumours.
"But the ground reality proves the government's claims wrong," he added.
He said that when the government was issuing advisories to Indian citizens in Iran that the situation could worsen, it should have clearly stated that this could also impact critical maritime routes and energy supplies, and should have taken steps in advance.
"Government very well knew that a crisis was impending at the Strait of Hormuz. The situation would not have been that bad had advance planning and alternative arrangements for LPG imports done in advance," Kharge said.
He said the waiting period for cylinder bookings in the country has also been extended, now 25 days in cities and 45 days in villages/remote areas.
This has triggered panic booking and increased the likelihood of hoarding, he said.
The Congress leader questioned why the government did not take stringent measures if it knew that the LPG crisis in the country would escalate.
"Why didn't it take the people and opposition in confidence? This crisis exposes the government's dismal management and flawed foreign policy," he said, and demanded a discussion on the issue.
While Kharge was making his remarks, Chairman C P Radhakrishnan repeatedly asked him to conclude as only three minutes are allowed to a speaker during the Zero Hour. However, the Chair allowed him extra time.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had given a detailed response on the issue in the Lok Sabha, but Congress members did not hear him out.
The Minister said Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi was given the floor in the Lower House to speak on the issue, but he spoke on other things instead.
Nadda lamented that the Opposition, especially the Congress, is not hesitating to indulge in politics even during times of crisis.
He said the current West Asia conflict is not due to India and has no contribution.
The senior BJP leader said a Congress leader has also been caught hoarding LPG cylinders.
"They are resorting to hoarding of cylinders. They are instigating people. They are inciting the peaceful people of the country, and this is very unfortunate that even in such a situation, they are indulging in politics.
"Instead of standing with the country, they are trying to create anarchy...This is condemnable," Nadda added.
