'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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UDF will have huge win in Kerala, NDA won't open its account: Cong leader Satheesan
Kochi (PTI): Senior Congress leader V D Satheesan on Friday expressed confidence in a huge win by the UDF, claiming it will make a clean sweep in five districts, and brushed aside speculations that the NDA will open its account in Kerala.
Satheesan, speaking to reporters here a day after the conclusion of the Assembly polls, praised the performance of the UDF leaders and workers during the election, saying it was the best ever he has seen in the last 30 years.
He said that his claims of the UDF getting over 100 seats is not a mere statement, but based on the work the front has done during the last five years to bring back all those who had left it in 2005 and as a result, there was a huge wave in its favour in the state.
The leader of opposition in the state assembly, who contested from the Paravoor constituency, further said that the Congress-led front also had a major social backing from minorities and marginalised groups in the society.
Besides that, there was an anti-incumbency feeling among the people who were disappointed with the LDF rule, he claimed and said that the UDF provided them with a hope and an alternative which no other opposition had done in the past.
"All these factors will contribute to a huge win for the UDF and it would not be surprising if we make a clean sweep in Malappuram, Wayanad, Ernakulam, Idukki and Pathanamthitta districts. That is a total of 43 seats," he said.
According to him, the polling percentage increased because the UDF got people added to the electoral list.
He also brushed aside the LDF remarks about a woman or youth CM, saying that "they can make such statements now as they know they cannot win".
"Otherwise, why did they campaign with Pinarayi Vijayan as the main factor. Why did they say a third Pinarayi rule will come?" he asked.
He also claimed that the LDF's decision to spend government money on its political campaign, by putting up hoardings and carrying out social media programmes to sway voters, has also backfired as people realised that their taxes were being wasted like that.
Asked whether the NDA will open its account, especially in areas where the UDF claimed the BJP-led front had made a deal with the LDF, Satheesan replied in the negative.
He said that as of now he does not see any chance of the NDA opening its account in the state.
