UNION BUDGET LACKS VISION: CM
Bengaluru: Terming the Union Budget 2018-19 anti-people and anti-growth, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah - who has presented a record 14 state budgets since 1995, on Thursday said it had no vision or direction.
"The central Budget presented by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley lacks vision and direction. Its proposals are disappointing, as they have nothing for the farmers, the poor and the common man," said Siddaramaiah in a statement here.
Charging the central government of making empty promises to woo the electorate ahead of the next parliamentary elections in 2019, the Chief Minister said the Budget failed to address the agrarian crisis in the country, especially in the southern state, which faced drought over the last three years.
"There is no relief for farmers in distress due to crop loss or declining prices for their produce in the market. The Budget has no waiver on short-term crop loans raised by farmers from state-run banks," lamented Siddaramaiah.
On the National Health Protection Scheme, the Chief Minister said “The health insurance scheme has been announced without allocating enough funds to help the poor and the deprived bear the cost of treatment in state-run or private hospitals,".
The scheme proposes to cover over 10 crore poor and vulnerable families or about 50 crore beneficiaries without providing coverage up to Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation.
"When a similar healthcare scheme, announced in the last year (2017-18) budget, is yet to be implemented, the Ayushman Bharat programme will suffer a similar fate this year," asserted Siddaramaiah.
The Chief Minister, who also holds the finance portfolio, said the Budget had no proposals for addressing the mounting unemployment problem in the country.
"The BJP-led NDA government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised to create two crore jobs every year, but no word about it in the Budget.
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Davangere: Two policemen injured in stone pelting during Ganesha procession
Davangere: Reports state that two groups engaged in stone pelting at each other during Ganesha idol immersion ceremony in Davangere on Thursday. Two police personnel were injured in the incident.
Few days ago, two groups of youth engaged in verbal altercation regarding raising of a flag for Eid Milad celebration. On account of the clashes, police had heightened security for the Ganesha procession. Despite the additional security, stones were pelted at the procession, sources stated. Inspector Gururaj and constable Raghavendra were injured in the incident. The procession continued after the police brought the situation to control. However, the stone pelting resumed once again as the procession surged forwards.
Security has been tightened up in the area and all shops have been closed down by the police. The two police personnel, who were injured in the stone pelting, are undergoing treatment at a hospital.
