JOIN USChief Minister Siddaramaiah said that the State government has decided against buying rice from other States of the country. Considering the requirement of rice for various welfare programmes, the State will buy paddy directly from farmers and rice mills in the State.
He also said that the proposed caste based census in Karnataka will be taken up either in April or May 2014. Responding to queries on the census, he said that the census required a minimum of twenty days to complete. “The survey will be taken up when school teachers are on leave during summer vacations. If Lok Sabha elections are held in May, the survey will start as soon as examinations in schools are over. If not, we will see when the elections are scheduled and plan the survey accordingly,” he said.
Responding to allegations made by JD(S) leader H D Deve Gowda that Siddaramaiah’s welfare programmes were aimed at the “Ahinda community” to garner votes in the next Lok Sabha elections, he said that welfare schemes were aimed at the economically backward sections of the State. “Are schemes such as Anna Bhagya meant only for Ahinda communities? Special schemes are necessary for communities that have been discriminated for generations,” he said.
On the nationwide run planned by BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, he said that people would not forget the corrupt rule of BJP in the State. “It was only during BJP rule that several ministers including the Chief Minister was sent to jail. People will not forget such incidents,” he said.