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Siddaramaiah cabinet hold its first meet, gives nod to implement five guarantees
Siddaramaiah has provided initial estimates, suggesting that the total cost of fulfilling the five guarantees is projected to be around ₹50,000 crore
Bengaluru: In its inaugural cabinet meeting, the newly formed government in Karnataka approved in principle the five key guarantees outlined in their election manifesto. Chief minister Siddaramaiah and deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar promised to come out with details of the financial implications at the next cabinet meeting after the first brief session of the state assembly.
The cabinet has scheduled a three-day session of the Karnataka legislative assembly, commencing on Monday. The primary purpose of the session will be to administer the oath of office to the recently elected legislators and officially induct them as members of the assembly. The nine-time MLA, RV Deshpande, who has been appointed as the pro-tem speaker, will oversee this process.
The five schemes that the Congress guaranteed to implement are: Gruha Jyothi to provide monthly 200 units of free electricity to every household; Gruha Lakshmi to grant ₹2,000 every month to the woman head of every family; Anna Bhagya to distribute monthly 10 kg of rice to every member of BPL families; Yuva Nidhi to sanction ₹3,000 to unemployed graduates and ₹1,500 to unemployed diploma holders every month for two years (in the 18-25 age group); and Shakti, free travel for women in ordinary public transport buses across Karnataka.
Siddaramaiah has provided initial estimates, suggesting that the total cost of fulfilling the five guarantees is projected to be around ₹50,000 crore. He expressed confidence in the state’s ability to implement these measures, emphasising that the annual budget size of Karnataka stands at ₹3.15 lakh crore, making it feasible to cover the financial burden.
Taking a critical stance, Siddaramaiah launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, accusing them of neglecting Karnataka’s financial needs. He highlighted the stark disparity between the state’s significant contribution of ₹4 lakh crore to the Central exchequer last year and the meagre ₹50,000 crore received in return.
“The 15th Finance Commission had in its interim report allocated a special grant of ₹5,495 crore last year, which had been conveniently ignored this year and the Bommai government or Lok Sabha members from the BJP did not raise their voice against the injustice or the denial of funds,” he said.
The chief minister further criticised the Modi government for amassing a national debt burden of ₹155 lakh crore over a nine-year period. “We are confident of raising the ₹50,000 crore required for funding the 5 guarantees through strict tax collection and slashing of wasteful expenditure,” said the chief minister.
Congress leaders say that out of five guarantees, Anna Bhagya is an ongoing scheme, and the new promise is to increase the quantity from 5kg to 10 kg. On the guarantee of giving 200 units of free power to households, a leader who didn’t want to be named said , “The state has achieved power surplus and giving free power would not be a problem. For Gruha Lakshmi, women heads of families are likely to be confined only to BPL families.”
The new government is likely to come out with strict guidelines for implementing poll promises such as ‘Yuva Nidhi’, and ‘Shakti. In the 2023-24 budget BJP government had proposed to provide a free bus pass facility to all women working in the organised sector and a free bus pass facility to all school and college girl students of the state.
The BJP said is yet to issue a statement on the cabinet announcement but some leaders said their party would wait for the Congress to fulfil its promises, .
