The Congress government in Karnataka, led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, is completing one year in office on Monday without any fanfare. With the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) for the Lok Sabha polls still on, the government has not organised any official programmes to mark its first anniversary.
The government that has implemented its five guarantee schemes - Shakti, Anna Bhagya, Gruha Jyothi, Gruha Lakshmi and Yuva Nidhi - within nine months of coming to power claimed that the guarantee schemes have reached over 4.6 crore people in the State, and with that, the purchasing power of the people has strengthened.
Dismissing the BJP’s assumptions that the Congress government in the State will discontinue the guarantee schemes after the Lok Sabha polls, the Chief Minister has been asserting that all the five guarantees will continue even after the elections.
Randeep Singh Surjewala, MP and AICC general secretary in charge of Karnataka, has termed it to be a “stupendous year for the Congress’s pro-people government.”
Congratulating Mr. Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, Mr. Surjewala said “the government has worked tirelessly in such a short span of time and won the praise of innumerable people. The Congress government has spread the ideology of equality and equity while working impartially for all communities. Our guarantees are a manner of ensuring this and are reaching 4.6 crore beneficiaries.”
Addressing the media, he said the “Congress government is not the one which works only on roads, bridges and infrastructure but also the one which works to uplift the poor, women, farmers, working class, bring them to the mainstream and ensure their overall development.”
“Our guarantee schemes are not only a model for the State and country but also world over for being a model of holistic development and progress for all. During the State Assembly elections, we did not just promise the guarantees, but also gave them signed Guarantee Cards as a promise that we would fulfill,” he said.
“After being blessed with a majority, we did not sit idle even for a second and within just nine months ensured that every one of our five guarantees were implemented. Even the Centre refusing us rice for Anna Bhagya did not deter us and we deposited money equivalent of 5 kg of rice to beneficiaries and ensured we delivered as promised,” he claimed.
“Our guarantees helped alleviate and act as a balm for people reeling under drought in Karnataka. As many as 223 taluks of the State were hit by drought and even when the Centre delayed our legally owed funds under disaster relief, the guarantees ensured people had a social security net. Ensuring DBT to drought-hit farmers’ accounts also helped prevent further distress and proved yet again that we are a pro-people government,” he added.
