'Will he? Will he not?' All eyes on CM Siddaramaiah's 2nd Cabinet meeting on rollout of 5 guarantees
Bengaluru (PTI): All eyes are set on the Karnataka Cabinet meeting on Friday where a decision will be taken on implementing the five guarantees promised by the ruling Congress during the Assembly elections in May.
The Congress had said that it will implement these schemes if it formed a government in Karnataka. The party stormed into the Vidhana Soudha by winning 135 out of 224 seats winning an absolute majority. Now, it is the Congress' turn to fulfil its promises After the people reposed their faith in it, the Congress
The five guarantees promised are 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) for two years (Yuva Nidhi), and free travel for women in public transport buses (Shakti).
The Congress government has estimated that the implementation of these schemes may cost about Rs 50,000 crore every year.
"We have announced five guarantees. We discussed them elaborately yesterday. Tomorrow, we will take a decision. We have assured that we will give 10 kg rice. There is no second thought about implementing it but I will explain to you after the Cabinet decision," Food and Civil Supplies Minister K H Muniyappa had said while speaking to reporters on Thursday.
Explaining further, he said: "We will implement the guarantees we have promised in a phased manner."
With regard to the Anna Bhagya scheme, he said the state government will ask the Centre and the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to provide rice to Karnataka.
"In case, they (Centre and the FCI) refuse, we on our own will procure rice through tender or though organisations and distribute it to the beneficiaries," Muniyappa said.
During elections, Congress leader and former party president Rahul Gandhi had said these schemes will be implemented on the day the government took over.
However, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah after assuming power on May 20 said the government has agreed in principle to implement the guarantees and sought time till the next cabinet meeting.
"We have given approval in principle. We will get details, discuss, financial implications will be looked into and then we will do it for sure. Whatever the financial implications may be, we will fulfil these five guarantee schemes," Siddaramaiah had told reporters after the first Cabinet meeting.
When asked when it will be implemented, he said: "Most likely it will be implemented after the next cabinet meeting," and added, "Already cabinet decision has been taken. We need to work out details such as its financial implications."
When asked why these aspects were not looked at before making the promises, the Chief Minister underlined, "The promises have been agreed upon. We will not go back."
Siddaramaiah said spending Rs 50,000 crore on these guarantees will not be a burden for the state, whose budget is about Rs Rs 3 lakh crore annually.
The opposition BJP is also waiting with bated breath to see how the Congress implements these guarantees, which according to them, will push the state towards bankruptcy.
The BJP has alleged that the government has no intention to implement the guarantees and had made false promises to come to power.
"They said they will implement it on the day they assume power but they could not do it. The delay has proved that the Congress is a party of cheats," BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel said.
According to some Congress leaders, there will be some conditions attached to these schemes.
The Gruha Lakshmi promising Rs 2,000 to the women head of the families is meant for those who are Below Poverty Line. Even the Anna Bhagya scheme providing 10 kg foodgrains is for BPL families.
Even Gruha Jyothi scheme offering 200 units of free power will be for the economically weaker sections, they said.
Regarding Shakti scheme, Congress leaders said there will be no conditions attached but it will specify in which buses women can travel free of cost.
An estimate prepared by Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) shows that its operational cost itself is over Rs 12,000 crore whereas its revenues are just over Rs 9,000 crore.
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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.
