Launching a counter-attack on the political opponents who have alleged that the State has become bankrupt owing to the guarantee schemes, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has said the State has not gone bankrupt and on the contrary, the Budget size has increased significantly.
Speaking after launching several projects at the SP office and after laying foundation stone for drinking water works in Haveri on Sunday, he said: “In my recent Budget, I announced ₹52,000 crore for the five guarantee schemes. We realised that the Budget size has increased by ₹46,000 crore. It is for everyone to see that despite the successful implementation of the guarantee schemes, the State is not bankrupt. First the Opposition claimed that the guarantees would never be implemented. Then they started spreading lies that the State would go bankrupt if the promises were fulfilled. If the size of the Budget increases over last year’s Budget, how can you say the State has gone bankrupt? I think the Opposition is misguided,’‘ he said.
“Nearly five crore of the total seven crore people of the State are benefiting from the guarantee schemes. Our aim is to see that the poor join the middle class using the benefits of various government schemes,” he said.
The Chief Minister also inaugurated the Ashakirana project of the Health Department where the poor get free consultancy and diagnosis. He said that several children, old people and middle-aged people had been examined under this health scheme, the defects were detected and glasses have been provided for free to correct eye defects.
He said the BJP was trying to win elections only by creating division between religion, sowing poisonous seeds between castes and inflaming people’s feelings. However, all this will not change the economic and social situation of the people of the State, he said.
