BJP's popular schemes to continue, says CM

Bowing to pressure from MLAs cutting across party lines, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday announced that popular schemes like “Suvarna Grama,” “Nagarothana,” “Namma Grama-Namma Raste,” “Bhagyalakshmi,” cycle for schoolchildren and “Bhoochetana,” would continue. All these were started by the previous BJP government.

Besides, the chief minister increased the local area development fund for legislators to Rs 2 crore from Rs 1 crore at present. There was a demand for increasing the allocation at the Congress Legislators’ Party meeting held recently.

In his reply to the 2013-14 revised Budget discussion in the Assembly, the chief minister said he has allocated Rs 391 crore for “Bhagyalakshmi (insurance cover for girls),” Rs 1,520 crore for “Nagarothana (major cities and towns development)” and Rs 1,110 crore for “Suvarna Grama (model villages).”

Not only the BJP, but a number of MLAs from the ruling Congress and the principal opposition party, the JD-S, had also demanded continuation of these schemes. The revised Budget presented by Siddaramaiah was silent on the projects.

Much of the marathon reply by the chief minister was, however, dedicated to politics, which repeatedly led to heated arguments. The chief minister did not make any major announcement in his Budget reply. Instead, he merely touched upon his Budget announcements. BJP members, led by former chief minister Jagadish Shettar, staged a walkout stating that Siddaramaiah’s reply was not satisfactory and he failed to clarify their doubts on the Budget.

Siddaramaiah also announced setting up of two more medical colleges in Gadag and Gulbarga. This is in addition to the four new medical colleges announced in the Budget speech. A study chair will be set up after Brahmashree Narayana Guru at Mangalore University at a cost of Rs 2 crore, he added.

The chief minister also turned down the demand for reducing sales tax on petrol. “Sales tax on diesel has been cut by one per cent with an intention to help farmers. It is not possible to reduce tax on petrol,” he stated.