State govt should continue running Indira canteens: Siddaramaiah

The Karnataka government is not providing funds for the Indira canteens and is instead asking the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to run them, claimed Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Saturday.

"I have heard that the government is not providing funds for the Indira canteen. They are instead saying that the BBMP should run it," Siddaramaiah told reporters here.

Expressing his dissatisfaction with the BS Yediyurappa led government's decision he said that the state should continue to manage and pay for the canteens in Bengaluru.

"There are more than 190 canteens in Bangalore. The cost of running them comes to around Rs 200 crore per annum. The state should not let the BBMP run them, the state should pay for it," Siddaramaiah said.

Indira canteens were started by the former Congress government in the state in 2017 with the aim to provide meals to the economically disadvantaged sections of society at a subsidised price.