Siddaramaiah asserts his govt committed to implement guarantees, says cabinet will decide on June 2
Bengaluru, May 31: Asserting that his government will implement the five poll 'guarantees' promised ahead of the assembly polls, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said officials have shared their inputs on financial implications, and the cabinet will meet on June 2 to decide on the implementation.
The cabinet meeting was earlier scheduled for June 1.
In view of the implementation of guarantees, the Chief Minister today held a meeting with all the Ministers and senior officials of the concerned departments at Vidhana Soudha, the seat of state secretariat and legislature, here.
"We had given five guarantees to the people, regarding these five guarantees concerned officials and finance department officials have made a presentation together. All the Ministers have seen the presentation, it has all the details -- proposals and financial implications of the implementation," Siddaramaiah said.
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Speaking to reporters here after the meeting, the CM said, "we have not discussed in today's meeting, discussion and decision will be on the day after. On Friday at 11 AM, I have convened the cabinet meeting, where we will discuss, and after that our decision will be made known to you."
"But, the government has taken a call to implement all the five guarantees. It is a guarantee that we will implement the guarantees," he added.
The Congress had promised to implement the guarantees' - 200 units of free power to all households (Gruha Jyoti), Rs 2,000 monthly assistance to the woman head of every family (Gruha Lakshmi), 10 kg of rice free to every member of a BPL household (Anna Bhagya), Rs 3,000 every month for unemployed graduate youth and Rs 1,500 for unemployed diploma holders (both in the age group of 18-25) (YuvaNidhi), and free travel for women in public transport buses (Shakti), on the very first day of assuming power in the state.
There is mounting pressure on the new government from opposition parties and various sections of people from across the state, to fulfill its five guarantees as promised ahead of polls.
Asked whether the five guarantees will be implemented at once or one after the other, the CM said, "All those things have not been decided yet, it will be discussed and decided in the cabinet."
To a query about BJP's criticism, he said, "let BJP (central govt) fulfill whatever they had promised, before questioning us. We will implement what we had promised, we had implemented earlier too, we will do it even now."
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar told media that officials shared inputs in today's meeting and also gave four to five options regarding the implementation of the guarantees, and what would be the financial impact.
"We are committed to implementing the guarantees, no doubts on that. Following officials sharing their opinion and inputs, some of us (Ministers) have also shared our view, and we have asked officials to rework and present it before the cabinet. As they sought time, there is no cabinet tomorrow, it has been postponed by a day -- to Friday. We will discuss and let you know."
Appealing to people to avoid any kind of "gossip" on this matter, Shivakumar said the state government is aware of the promises made by the Congress ahead of elections and also the financial implications. "We are discussing everything."
Reiterating that the government will decide at the cabinet meeting on Friday, he said, "How to do, what to do, we are thinking about it. You (media) may be in a hurry, we are not. Our speed is towards implementing systematically, the state has to be saved and we have to keep up our promise."
Asked whether there will be conditions attached to guarantees, the Deputy CM said, "Whether there are conditions or not - is not important, there should be a system for everything. Like in the case of free bus service for women -- who, where, within Karnataka or outside, there should be some calculations."
Earlier in the day, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge said criteria and frameworks are being decided for implementation of guarantees.
He said the criterion has to be fixed to implement the guarantees, as tax-payers money is involved.
Opposition BJP and JD(S) have accused the Congress of trying to "cheat" voters after coming to power by trying to attach conditions or criterion to the guarantees for their implementation, which were not mentioned ahead of polls.
There are also some reports about incidents of people not willing to pay electricity bills and women not wanting to pay bus charges. There are also discussions over whether mother-in-law or daughter-in-law should get financial assistance under the 'Gruha Lakshmi' scheme.
After having accorded in-principal approval for the guarantees in the first cabinet meeting on May 20, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had said they would "most likely" be implemented after the next Cabinet meeting. He had also said that initial estimates indicate it would cost the exchequer Rs 50,000 crore annually.
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Delhi Polls: BJP faces protest, placates MLA amid resentment over ticket distribution
New Delhi, Jan 12: Resentment surfaced in the BJP on Sunday over ticket distribution for Delhi Assembly polls, with a protest held outside its Delhi unit office and an angry outburst by the outgoing MLA from Karawal Nagar who was not included in the candidate list released a day earlier.
As MLA Mohan Singh Bisht threatened to revolt after being denied a ticket from Karawal Nagar, the party rushed to control the damage and announced his candidature from the Mustafabad seat this evening.
A group of protesters from Tughlakabad in South Delhi held a dharna at the gate of the Delhi BJP office, demanding a change in the candidate from the constituency.
"Vikram Bidhuri Tum Sangharsh Karo; Modi Se Bair Nahi, Rohtas Teri Khair Nahi," the protesters, including mostly youngsters, chanted as the party leaders tried to pacify them.
In the second list of BJP candidates for the polls declared on Saturday, Rohtas Bidhuri was fielded from the Tughlakabad seat. In 2020 Assembly polls, Vikram Bidhuri who is a relative of senior party leader Ramesh Bidhuri, lost to AAP's Sahiram by over 13,000 votes.
A similar protest was also held by some party workers outside the Delhi BJP office against Mehrauli candidate Gajainder Yadav after the announcement of the first list of candidates earlier this month.
Bisht, the senior-most BJP MLA in the outgoing Assembly elected five times from Karawal Nagar, openly expressed unhappiness over being denied the ticket to contest from his stronghold.
A senior party leader said he was pacified after a meeting with BJP chief JP Nadda.
Bisht, after getting the ticket from Mustafabad, expressed confidence that he would win the seat for the BJP.
"I met the national president and things were ironed out. I have assured that I will contest from Mustafabad and win the seat for the party," Bisht told PTI.
The MLA said he and the BJP had considerable support in Mustafabad and he has already attended two public meetings there.
The BJP won the Mustafabad seat, having a significant minority community presence, in the 2015 Assembly polls but lost it to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in 2020.
Earlier in the day, Bisht told PTI that the party's decision to replace him with Kapil Mishra was "wrong" and its consequences will be visible after voting on February 5.
"You have challenged the 'samaj' (his Uttarakhandi community), not Mohan Singh Bisht. The BJP will lose at least 8-10 seats because of this decision, including Karawal Nagar, Burari, Mustafabad and Gokalpuri," Bisht warned.
The BJP fielded Kapil Mishra, a Hindutva hardliner, from Karwal Nagar in North East Delhi, which was rocked by massive communal violence just after the 2020 Assembly polls.
Sources in the party claimed that there was also "deep resentment" among the Delhi BJP's Scheduled Castes Morcha leaders over being denied tickets from different constituencies including Madipur and Kondli.
A top Delhi BJP functionary stressed that there are many ticket aspirants, so it is natural for those who did not get selected to feel disappointed.
"The BJP is a disciplined party and its leaders understand this. Sooner or later, everyone will realise this and work for the victory of the party giving up their resentment," he said.
The elections to 70 Assembly seats in Delhi are scheduled on February 5. Results will be out after the counting of votes on February 8.
The BJP, out of power in Delhi since 1998, is making all-out efforts to return to power. In the 2015 and 2020 Assembly polls, the party was completely routed by the AAP, scraping through with just three and eight seats, respectively.
