Training his guns on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday sought to project his experiment of implementing Universal Basic Income concept through five guarantees as “Karnataka model of development” as against the much-talked about “Gujarat model” of the BJP.
“The BJP has robbed from the pockets of poor people. But our government has tried to put money into the pockets of poor people through Universal Basic Income concept being implemented through five poll guarantees,” the Chief Minister said while replying to the debate on the State Budget in Karnataka Assembly.
Describing the five guarantee schemes as the “biggest ever welfare measure implemented by any State in India”, he said the Congress had decided to implement them after realising that people of the State were in dire need of a support system as they were badly hit by the BJP rule and its policies. Several developed countries had adopted such a system to support their people, he pointed out. “Our model of development is inclusive and based on the principles of Buddha, Basaveshwara, Ambedkar, Gandhi and Kuvempu,” he said.
