Completing 100 days in office, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah reiterates govt commitment to fulfilling pre-poll guarantees

PTI, Aug 28, 2023, 8:28 AM IST

Bengaluru: As the Congress government in Karnataka completed 100 days, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday sought people’s cooperation to lead the ”chariot of development” along with the execution of the five election guarantees.

Riding on its pre-poll guarantees, the Congress swept to power winning 135 seats in the 224-member Assembly as it dislodged the ruling BJP. The saffron party secured only 66 seats while the JD(S) came a distant third with 19.

”Our government has completed 100 days of coming to power today. In the last Assembly elections, the voters of the state placed their trust and confidence in us and our candidates won in 135 seats and allowed the formation of a secure government with full majority. We are making good use of this opportunity given to people and making sincere efforts to fulfil their expectations,” Siddaramaiah said in a social media post.

The Chief Minister said along with the implementation of guarantees and executing development projects, his government is leading the state on the path of equality shown by philosophers like Gautam Buddha, Basaveshwara, Dr B R Ambedkar, Kuvempu, saint-poet Kanakadasa and Sree Narayana Guru.

He also explained how the poll guarantees namely ‘Anna Bhagya’ scheme, ‘Gruha Lakshmi’, ‘Gruha Jyothi’ and ‘Shakti’ are making progress.

The Congress had promised to give 10 kilograms rice including five kg of central share to 1.28 crore BPL families. It has estimated that around Rs 10,000 crore would be spent on this scheme alone every year.

However, in absence of adequate supply of rice and other food grains such as ragi and maize, the government decided to pay Rs 170 to each beneficiary till arrangements are made to fully realise the scheme.

According to Siddaramaiah, 1.08 crore women have enrolled themselves for the Gruha Lakshmi scheme offering Rs 2,000 to the women who are heading their families. The government has earmarked Rs 17,500 crore for it.

Under Gruha Jyothi scheme offering 200 units of free electricity to the residential power connections, 1.48 crore families have started getting the benefit. According to the government estimates, it will cost the state exchequer Rs 13,000 crore annually.

Shakti scheme has been fully implemented in the state where more than 50 lakh women and students are traveling free of cost in government buses everyday.

Around 43 crore women (total number of journeys) have travelled for free since the scheme was implemented and the total ticket value has crossed Rs 1,000 crore, Siddaramaiah said.

The Shakti scheme has been implemented with the hope that the women of the state should not depend on anyone for education and employment-related journeys but should be fully involved in the public domain and lead a self-reliant life, the Chief Minister said.

The words of praise expressed by the women of Karnataka are like a mirror to the success of the project, he added.

Thanking people of the state who supported his party, Siddaramaiah said: ”I am proud to say that we are doing as promised in our first 100 days of administration. May you all cooperate with us in leading the chariot of development along with the fulfilment of guarantees.”

The ‘Yuva Nidhi’ scheme offering Rs 3,000 and Rs 1,500 to the unemployed graduates and diploma holders who graduated in the 2022-23 academic year will be implemented in December if they fail to get a job in six months.

There were no official celebrations in the state on the completion of 100 days of the Siddaramaiah-led government on Sunday. However, sources in the CM’s Office said the launch of Gruha Lakshmi scheme in Mysuru on August 30 will be an occasion to commemorate 100 days of governance.

The Congress, which is gearing up for the Lok Sabha election next year, is buoyed by the public response to the five guarantees.

”Is there any other state in India, which has done something like our five guarantees? These guarantees have hit the century. We will also implement ‘Yuva Nidhi’ in December,” Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar told reporters here.

Shivakumar, who is also the Congress state president, said the government is also mulling on providing Wi-Fi connection in some areas of Bengaluru.

The completion of 100 days also marked the strong decisions taken by the Congress government such as ordering an inquiry by the retired High Court judges into the alleged irregularities taken place during the previous BJP government in the state such as ’40 per cent commission’ on public works and procurement of medicines and equipment during the Covid-19 pandemic.