4 days ago
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Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has lashed out at the Congress and accused it of paying lip service to the concept of social justice without doing anything concrete for the betterment of the people.
He was speaking at a public meeting of beneficiaries of various government schemes in Madikeri on Saturday and also laid the foundation stone for various projects worth ₹2,000 crore.
Mr. Bommai did not mention any individual or party in his speech but was alluding to the Congress when he said that ‘’there are some who only makes speeches on social justice but have done nothing to alter the living conditions of the people’’.
He also dubbed the guarantee card of the Congress as a ‘’bogus card’’ and asked the people to remain wary of such claims. ‘’It is at a best a visiting card and a party that did nothing when in power for 5 years was now promising 200 units of free power and ₹2,000 to every woman head of the household. Many Bhagya schemes were announced in the past but they remained on paper only’’, the Chief Minister added.
Mr. Bommai said it was the BJP which has raised the reservation for SC/STs, introduced bus passes for working women, announced free education for students in government colleges up to degree level besides enhancing compensation to property damaged due to natural calamities. ‘’The relief under Congress was like alms but the BJP ushered in revolutionary changes and ₹5 lakh is disbursed for fully damaged houses and ₹3 lakh for partially damaged houses which will enable people to lead their lives with dignity and self-respect’’, he added.
The Chief Minister said the crop compensation amount has also been doubled as also the funding for irrigation and in Kodagu alone ₹65 crore was released as compensation in 2020 which increased to ₹108 crore last year while it was pegged at ₹132 crore during the current year.
The government was aware of the potential of Kodagu as a tourist destination and hence had included it under the Mysuru circuit for tourism promotion and has the district on the international tourist map, he added.
He said the pace at which drinking water scheme was being extended to all households in the country under Prime Minister Narendra Modi was unique. “No PM had dared to make such a promise given the enormity of the task but Mr. Modi in 3 years had made a difference. While 25 lakh households were provided with piped water facility in the last 70 years in Karnataka, 40 lakh households have received water connections in the last 3 years alone’’, said Mr. Bommai. He said in response to the demand of the coffee planters, free power was being provided for upto 10 HP pumpsets by the BJP government in the State while a special package of ₹100 crore has also been announced for Kodagu in the Budget.
Minister for Cooperation S.T. Somashekar, Appachu Ranjan and K.G. Bopaiah, MLAs, and others were present.
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