Congress guarantees 10 kg free rice to BPL families in Karnataka

The Congress on Friday unveiled its third ‘guarantee’ of providing 10 kg of rice free to every member of a BPL household if voted to power.

“This will be implemented in the first month of us coming to power,” Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah told a news conference.

The Congress has already announced two poll ‘guarantees’ - 200 units of free power to all households (Gruha Jyoti) and Rs 2,000 monthly assistance to the woman head of every family (Gruha Lakshmi).

All these promises are being branded as ‘guarantees’. Congress is giving voters a guarantee card signed by Siddaramaiah and Karnataka Congress president D K Shivakumar. “People are fed up with the BJP government’s lies and they don’t know whom to trust anymore. So we are giving a guarantee card to every house with an assurance that our plans will be implemented,” Siddaramaiah said.

Also Read | 15th Karnataka Assembly session meets emotional end

At present, ration card holders get six kg of rice free under the ‘Anna Bhagya’ scheme that the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government started. “It costs Rs 4,000-5,000 crore now. To give 10 kg, an additional Rs 4,000-5,000 crore will be required. But that’s not an issue. Our aim is that no one in the state should suffer from hunger and go to bed hungry,” Siddaramaiah said.

The Congress leader said his government had decided to provide 30 kg of rice at Rs 1 per kg. “Then, we decided to give 7 kg of rice for free to every member of a BPL household. After the BJP government came to power, it was reduced to 5 kg,” he said.

According to Shivakumar, the Congress’ promise of 200 units of free power would lead to monthly savings of Rs 1,500 for every family.

Shivakumar rubbished Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement that he is engaged in a turf war with Siddaramaiah.

“Am I in a wrestling ring with Siddaramaiah? The fight is within the BJP. Why was B S Yediyurappa made to shed tears? What did Basanagouda Patil Yatnal say about Murugesh Nirani? What have H Vishwanath and Goolihatti Shekhar said about the government?” he said, mentioning several other statements made by BJP leaders.