Bengaluru: Was it a Freudian slip? Did the media “twist” his statement? Whatever be the case, a Congress legislator close to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has sounded the alarm bell over how the poll guarantees of the party were impacting development in Karnataka.
In doing so, Koppal MLA Raghavendra Hitnal has joined the growing voices within the Congress to link the lack of development with the party’s five guarantee schemes. Several senior leaders, including PWD minister Satish Jarkiholi and MLAs like Allamaprabhu Patil and J.T.Patil, have either asked for a review of the guarantee schemes or spoke about how resources were being diverted to fulfill the electoral promises.
“Since we have given guarantee schemes, there has been some impact on development activity. Every year we have set aside Rs 54,000 crore. In nine months, it was Rs 39,000 crore and for the next five years, Rs 54,000 crore (per year). It goes directly to the accounts of the mothers… because of that there are some impacts on development activities,” Hitnal told a gathering in Koppal’s Kunikeri Sunday.
His statement came on the day when Deputy Chief Minister D.K.Shivakumar was announcing the Congress’ Pyari Didi scheme entailing financial assistance of Rs 2500 to women, designed on the lines of Gruhalakshmi scheme in poll-bound Delhi.
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Though Hitnal has backtracked on his remarks and even accused the media of “twisting his statements”, Union minister H.D.Kumaraswamy was quick to launch a scathing attack on Siddaramaiah, accusing the Karnataka government of ‘unchecked loot’.
The Congress government was yet to clear bills of contractors as all of the state resources were diverted to fund the guarantees, he said Tuesday.
“In the name of guarantees, you (Siddaramaiah govt) are disbursing funds recklessly and looting crores,” Kumaraswamy told reporters in Delhi, adding that contractors were awaiting payment to the tune of Rs 32,000 crore, including Rs 14,600 crore in the water resources department, Rs 10,000 crore in public works, Rs 3,100 crore in RDPR, Rs 2,800 crore in minor irrigation, and around Rs 1,500 crore in other departments.
Even in releasing the payments, he alleged, the Congress government was demanding commissions—or bribes—of up to 60 percent.
In late October last year, Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge had cautioned the CM against unplanned approach to populist measures causing fiscal issues, leaving both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar red-faced. Later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi referred to Kharge’s comments to attack the Congress.
After its 2023 victory in Karnataka, the Congress has tried to replicate the welfare brand of politics in Telangana, Haryana, Rajasthan and other states but with varying degrees of success. Other parties like the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), too, have tried to replicate its flagship programmes despite opposing it in Karnataka.
“PM Modi criticised Congress party’s guarantee schemes saying it would push the state to bankruptcy. But he himself has copied our guarantee schemes and announced similar schemes in many states. The Congress party has rolled out these guarantee schemes not for political gains but to bail people out from price rise and inflation,” Shivakumar said Monday.
Siddaramaiah has followed the ‘Bhagya Brand’ of welfare schemes from his first stint as the CM (2013-18) and remains steadfast in continuing them despite several instances of alleged misuse of these schemes.
This includes the fact that over 70 percent of Karnataka’s population are classified as BPL (below poverty line) who are beneficiaries of the five guarantees and there has been resistance—and opposition—to rectify this.
To help offset the financial burden, the state government has resorted to raising prices of milk, water, fuel, liquor, property and vehicle registration and even bus fares, adding to the criticism that the party was taxing the people to remain in power.
“We have ear-marked Rs 56,000 crore for the guarantee schemes in a budget of Rs 3.70 lakh crore. Karnataka is one of the highest tax contributors in the country and we are financially very stable,” Shivakumar said Monday.
He added that the guarantee schemes were part of the Congress party’s promises of economic empowerment.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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