Special package is too little, too late, says Siddaramaiah

Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah on Wednesday dismissed Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa’s special package of Rs 1,610 crore as “too little, too late.”

Siddaramaiah quoted a Kannada adage, saying the special package was akin to buttermilk for the gluttony demon Bakasura’s stomach.

“I had requested the CM to announce Rs 50,000 crore Covid-19 relief package. Now, Yediyurappa has announced a package of just Rs 1,610 crore,” he said, pointing out that the neighbouring Kerala had announced a package worth Rs 20,000 crore.

Flower growers would have spent Rs 50 lakh per acre, but Yediyurappa has announced just Rs 25,000 per hectare. “The government should compensate at least half of their loss.”

The former chief minister also accused the CM of shortchanging construction workers.

“I had requested the CM to provide monthly relief of ₹10,000 to all the 22 lakh registered construction workers. There is Rs 9,000 crore in the construction workers' welfare fund. Yediyurappa has betrayed them by just announcing one-time relief of Rs 2,000 for just 11.8 lakh workers,” he said.

Even farmers have been “completely ignored”, Siddaramaiah said, adding that a revolving fund of Rs 5,000 crore was needed to “allow purchase of produce from farmers at the gram panchayat level.”