No paucity of funds in Karnataka for development, assures Surjewala

Bengaluru: With a section of Congress lawmakers upset over the shortage of grants, the party’s general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala on Tuesday said there was no paucity in the government for development funds. 

“I want to reiterate, and this is something the chief minister and deputy chief minister have said, that there are more than sufficient funds available for development,” Surjewala, who is meeting the party’s MLAs to hear their grievances, said.

“This is a bogey being raised by the BJP, for they want the ‘guarantee’ schemes to be shut down. The BJP is against the five guarantees. I dare BJP leaders to say that they don’t want women to get Rs 2,000, free bus travel and so on,” Surjewala said. 

Surjewala, who is in charge of the party’s affairs in Karnataka, said he will meet all MLAs by next week.

“I’m asking MLAs for their report card,” he said. “I’m also asking them if there are any difficulties or aspirations they have. The government has its limitations. MLAs are expressing their aspirations. We’ll convey them to the government so that they are addressed as a priority,” he said.

“Most importantly, we’re asking MLAs about the ‘guarantee’ schemes in constituencies: how many have benefited? How has it changed people’s lives? How can they be improved?” Surjewala said. 

Former minister Tanveer Sait, the Karnataka Congress working president, told Surjewala that the government should ensure timely payments to beneficiaries under the ‘guarantee’ schemes.

“The schemes have reached beneficiaries. But grants are not reaching them every month, because of which we’re unable to get the desired results from these schemes,” Sait said. 

Not getting respect MLA tells Surjewala

Senior Congress lawmaker Bharamgouda Alagouda Kage (Raju) on Tuesday complained to the party’s general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala about ministers. “My fight isn’t just about grants. It’s about the system. I don’t get proper respect. Ministers don’t respond properly. Files are kept pending for years” Kage told reporters after meeting Surjewala. He said Surjewala assured him that his concerns would be addressed.