×
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

CM gives full marks to his 3-year-old govt

Gets pat from beneficiaries; promises more sops
Last Updated 13 May 2016, 20:12 IST

As he marked 3 years of his regime on Friday, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah justified his subsidy schemes and hinted that they would get bigger in the coming days.

Siddaramaiah, who chose to interact with select beneficiaries of some of his pet schemes at an event to mark the completion of 3 years of his government, asserted that all his flagship programmes were well-thought-out and claimed that he had kept the promises he had made to people, especially the poor.

Buoyed by the “positive” response from the handpicked beneficiaries at the event titled “Jana Mana”, the Chief Minister announced that government school children will get milk 6 days a week instead of the current 3 days.

He also assured beneficiaries that his government will consider their suggestions for increasing the quantum of benefit under various schemes, including Anna Bhagya (free rice to BPL families), Ksheera Dharane (Rs 4 incentive per litre of milk) and Manaswini (pension to unmarried women).

Siddaramaiah had come under criticism for splurging tax-payers’ money on subsidy schemes and various welfare programmes. The government’s subsidy expenditure has almost doubled after Siddaramaiah came to power. But the chief minister justified the schemes, saying they have helped improve the human development index.

Siddaramaiah avoided celebrations for commemorating his three years in office citing severe drought in the state. The event was organised to get a feedback from beneficiaries, who were all selected by the government itself. Interestingly, a majority of the beneficiaries who were allowed to speak, heaped praises on Siddaramaiah.

Some of them even said the Congress should come back to power in the 2018 Assembly polls and that Siddaramaiah should be the chief minister for a second term.
Siddaramaiah also said he will complete his five-year term and hit out at critics, especially the opposition.

“If my government had not taken off as charged by opposition parties, so many beneficiaries would not have expressed satisfaction. They (opposition parties) have a prejudiced mind...They have no right to speak about corruption. They should be ashamed of themselves,” he said.

ADVERTISEMENT
(Published 13 May 2016, 20:12 IST)

Follow us on

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT