CM Siddaramaiah Guarantee Schemes to Boost State's GDP Amid Allegations

Kalaburagi: Strongly denying allegations that the state's development would be hampered by the implementation of the guarantee schemes, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah asserted that these schemes would contribute to increasing the state's GDP and stimulating economic activity.

He was speaking after launching the ‘Gruha Jyothi’ scheme in Kalaburagi today.

"Opposition leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have been claiming that the state will face bankruptcy due to the implementation of the five guarantees. These guarantees, based on the concept of Universal Basic Income, will be the Karnataka model.  Under this, each beneficiary will receive monthly benefits ranging from Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000, resulting in an annual benefit of Rs 48,000 to Rs 60,000. Implementation of the guarantee schemes will not lead to the state's bankruptcy but, instead, will enhance people's purchasing power and consequently boost the state's GDP and economic activity," Siddaramaiah said.

"We stand by our promises. Immediately after assuming power, the Congress government took decisive action to implement the five guarantees. As a result, the 'Shakti' scheme was launched on June 11, benefiting over 30 crore women to date. Additionally, approximately 50 lakh women now enjoy free daily travel. The positive response from women indicates their satisfaction with the scheme," he stated.

Speaking about the Gruha Jyothi scheme, Siddaramaiah said that the scheme will benefit 2.14 crore people and 1.41 crore have already registered for the scheme.

"Starting from August, beneficiaries will receive a bill with zero charges. As a symbolic gesture, we presented this benefit to ten individuals today. Our approach is inspired by the teachings of Buddha, Basava, Gandhi, Ambedkar, and Narayana Guru," he said.

Speaking about the Anna Bhagya program, Siddaramaiah attacked former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa for reducing the rice allocation from 7 kg to 4 kg.
"We had committed to providing 10 kg of rice. Due to the lack of cooperation from the central government in supplying rice, we are now providing Rs 170 to each beneficiary as an alternative benefit," he said.

Siddaramaiah said that the Gruha Lakshmi scheme will be launched on August 24 under which Rs 2,000 will be given to 1.28 crore families in the state.
"Today marks a momentous occasion. Before the election, we pledged five guarantees to the people, vowing to fulfill them once entrusted with power. Over the next five years, our government is committed to delivering on all 76 promises outlined in our manifesto," he affirmed.

Siddaramaiah highlighted the fulfillment of 158 out of the 165 promises made by the Congress government in its manifesto, along with the successful implementation of 30 ambitious programs during his previous term as Chief Minister from 2013 to 2018.

He declared that the implementation of guarantee schemes would not hinder development programs; rather, they would be carried out in parallel with these guarantees.

Siddaramaiah also took the opportunity to assure the commitment of the Congress towards development in the Kalyana Karnataka region. He spoke on how Congress was instrumental in giving special status to the Kalyana Karnataka region.

"During Manmohan Singh's tenure as Prime Minister, the Congress government successfully passed an amendment to Article 371J, with crucial contributions from Mallikarjun Kharge and Dharam Singh, enabling the provision of the 371J facility to Kalyana Karnataka. As a result of this amendment, many people in the region have been able to secure government jobs," he said and added that when Lal Krishna Advani served as the Deputy Prime Minister, he did not exhibit a commitment to Article 371J.

He also compared the developmental works undertaken by his previous government and the BJP government.

 "In our previous term, we successfully built 14,42,000 houses across the state, with 99,600 of them in the Kalyana Karnataka region. However, the last BJP government construct only 8 lakh houses statewide, and out of those, only 19,000 were in the Kalyana Karnataka region. The only significant accomplishment of the previous government was the renaming of Hyderabad Karnataka as Kalyana Karnataka," he added.

Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, Power Minister KJ George, Kalaburagi district in-charge and Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge, Ministers and MLAs were present.