Chief Minister Siddaramaiah inaugurates a programme organised to lay the foundation stone for various developmental works worth Rs 4,557 crore and inaugurate the completed works in Indi town of Vijayapura district on Monday. Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, Ministers H K Patil, M B Patil, Shivanand Patil, Dinesh Gundu Rao and MLA Yashwantharayagouda Patil and others are seen.
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Vijayapura: “Ours is a development-oriented government. Let us have a public debate, with documents, comparing the two years of our government's achievements with the four years of the previous BJP government,” challenged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Speaking at a programme in Indi town of the district on Monday, he said, “Opposition leaders should come and see the Rs 4,557 crore worth of various development works that have either been inaugurated or for which foundation stones have been laid in Indi. Instead of sitting somewhere and making baseless allegations, misleading the public, they should witness the work being done,” he stated.
The CM said BJP and JD(S) leaders are making politically motivated false claims that the state government has no funds and that development work has stopped. We are responding to such misinformation through our people-welfare programmes, he hit back at the opposition leaders.
Siddaramaiah highlighted that is it not development that 500 crore women have travelled free of cost in buses under the Shakti scheme, 1.23 crore families have received money through the Gruha Lakshmi scheme, 1.64 crore households are receiving 200 units of free electricity, and crores of Kannadigas are being supported through Anna Bhagya and Yuva Nidhi schemes?”
“We are allocating Rs 55,000 crore annually for the guarantee schemes. Additionally, Rs 83,000 crore is being spent on other developmental works. This is a clear indication of our development-focused governance,” he asserted.
The CM criticised the opposition by saying that if the BJP thinks they can return to power by lying and misleading the public, it is simply not possible.”
“The allegations made by the BJP and JD(S) that the government has no money or that the treasury is empty are blatant lies. Never has there been a situation in the state where the government lacked funds for development,” he clarified.
Siddaramaiah added that in earlier times, when there was drought in Indi, people used to uproot lime trees. He had visited at that time and assured support to lime farmers. In line with that promise, we have now established a Lime Development Board and released its logo, continuing the Congress tradition of walking the talk, he added.
Guarantee schemes, a model for nation: DKS
Our guarantee schemes have become a model for the entire country. Even BJP-ruled states are now following our example, said Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar.
“At a time when incomes are falling and prices are rising, we introduced these schemes to protect the poor. Our programmes are helping every household save an average of Rs 5,000 per month. No other party except Congress can provide such people-centric schemes,” he stated.
The Congress has ruled this country for 70 years. No one has been able to undo the programmes we introduced. Be it land to the tiller, five-year plans, plots, housing, pension benefits, or job guarantees for the poor. Likewise, no one can reverse our five guarantee schemes, he affirmed.