Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah urged the Central government to extend the free rice scheme to 10 kgs per person for six months and compensation of Rs 10,000 for all the poor families affected by the lockdown in Karnataka.
In his letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Siddaramaiah said, "The eventual fallout due to lockdown (in Karnataka) is highly concerning as the state government has failed to address the livelihood concerns."
Apart from ensuring food grains and compensation, he urged the Centre to expand MNREGA work on demand basis and increase wages across the country. "There will also be huge dependency on agriculture and hence, the government should reduce the prices of fertilisers to make agriculture economically viable," he said.
Accusing the Centre of permitting 'immoral profiteering' of vaccine manufacturers, Siddaramaiah said that the Centre's approach on vaccination raised doubts on the budgetary commitment of the Centre to set aside Rs 35,000 cr for vaccination.
"How and where will this allocated amount be spent if state governments and private hospitals have to procure the vaccines by paying the manufacturers? I strongly urge the Central government to be the sole procurer of the vaccines and distribute it to the states free of cost," he added.