Page 23 - Siddaramaiah

K'taka govt launches 'Gruha Lakshmi' scheme, to benefit 11 mn women

Seeking to fulfill another key pre-poll promise, the Congress government in Karnataka on Wednesday launched the 'Gruha Lakshmi' scheme, offering a monthly assistance of Rs 2,000 to about 1.1 crore women who are heads of their households. AICC President M Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar were among those present at the public function on Maharaja College grounds, attended by tens of thousands of people. "Gruha Lakshmi" scheme, rolled out amid fanfare, is one of the five pre-poll 'guarantees' of the Congress, which ousted the BJP from power in the May Assembly elections. Earlier, the CM had said that his government has already implemented three of the five 'guarantees' (pre-poll promises) -- 'Shakti', 'Gruha Jyothi' and 'Annabhagya' -- and noted that 'Gruha Lakshmi' is the fourth one. The government has earmarked Rs 17,500 crore for the 'Gruha Lakshmi' programme in the current financial year. The fifth guaran

K'taka govt's 100 days: CM reiterates commitment to fulfil poll promises

As the Congress government in Karnataka completed 100 days, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday sought people's cooperation to lead the "chariot of development" along with the execution of the five election guarantees. Riding on its pre-poll guarantees, the Congress swept to power winning 135 seats in the 224-member Assembly as it dislodged the ruling BJP. The saffron party secured only 66 seats while the JD(S) came a distant third with 19. "Our government has completed 100 days of coming to power today. In the last Assembly elections, the voters of the state placed their trust and confidence in us and our candidates won in 135 seats and allowed the formation of a secure government with full majority. We are making good use of this opportunity given to people and making sincere efforts to fulfil their expectations," Siddaramaiah said in a social media post. The Chief Minister said along with the implementation of guarantees and executing development projects, his government is ...

Review current parameters for declaring drought: Karnataka CM to Centre

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has written to the union government to review the current parameters for a state to declare drought and consider amending it, to establish a more responsive framework that acknowledges the realities of each state and offers timely assistance to the farmers in particular. In the backdrop of deficient Southwest Monsoon rains received in Karnataka, the chief minister has written Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, concerning the "stringent" parameters prescribed in the 'Manual for Drought Management-2016', as updated in 2020 for the declaration of drought by state governments. "In the current Southwest Monsoon season, Karnataka has recorded 234 mm as against a normal rainfall of 336 mm, with 34 per cent deficiency. This was also in the backdrop of delayed arrival of the monsoon and a deficit of 56 per cent in June due to weak monsoon," Siddaramaiah said, adding that throughout this season, the rainfall distribution and intensity has ..

'Gruha Jyothi' to benefit 315,000 people in Udupi alone: Karnataka minister

The 'Gruha Jyothi' free electricity scheme of the Karnataka government will benefit over 3.15 lakh people in Udupi district alone, Minister for Women and Child Development Laxmi Hebbalkar has said. A total of 1.42 crore consumers in the state will be benefitted by the scheme that provides 200 units of free power to consumers, Hebbalkar said speaking after launching the district-level programme of the scheme at Kunjibettu in Udupi district on Saturday. The Minister, who is Udupi district in-charge, said the 'Anna Bhagya' food grains scheme launched by the government is already providing 10 kg of rice free to 1.28 crore families in the state. She said 30 crore women have already utilised the government's 'Shakti' scheme that offers free travel for women in the state. Through the direct benefit transfer (DBT) 'Gruha Lakshmi' scheme, Rs 2,000 each will be distributed every month to housewives. One crore women have already registered for the scheme so far, the Minister said. Hebbalkar s

Karnataka CM taking entire cabinet to Delhi is 'undemocratic': BJP

Opposition BJP in Karnataka on Thursday took strong exception to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for taking his "entire cabinet" to New Delhi, before the Congress high command, terming it "unprecedented" and "undemocratic", and insult to the people of the state, who have elected this government with a huge majority. Questioning whether the cabinet is reporting to Congress high command, senior BJP leader and former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai alleged that Siddaramiah is a weak leader, compared to his earlier stint as the Chief Minister. "Siddaramaiah taking his entire cabinet to Delhi is unprecedented. Never in the history of Karnataka politics, a Chief Minister has taken his entire cabinet to the party high command," he said. Speaking to reporters here, he questioned whether the cabinet is reporting to Congress high command. The cabinet is supreme in the state's administrative system and that supremacy has been "pleaded" before the Central leadership. Noting that Congress general .

Karnataka CM meets PM, Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. This was his first meeting with the PM, after the Congress came to power in the state under his leadership, following Assembly polls in May. According to the Chief Minister's office, Siddaramaiah met Modi at the Parliament building and held discussions. He also met Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, it said. Chief Minister's political secretary K Govindaraj and state's special representative in Delhi T B Jayachandra were present at these meetings. Siddaramaiah also called on Congress National President and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and held discussions. On Wednesday, he participated in a meeting of state Congress leaders and Ministers with the central party leadership to discuss the party's strategy for the next Lok Sabha elections.

We know BJP's hidden agenda: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah after Congress meet

This came after the Karnataka Congress leaders had a meeting with party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi here on Wednesday over preparations for the upcoming Lok Sabha election

CM Siddaramaiah to meet Nitin Gadkari regarding Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway

With accidents on rise on the Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said he would meet Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari and point out the flaws on the expressway and changes to be made. Speaking to reporters after inspecting accident-prone areas of the Expressway near Mandya, Siddaramaiah accused the BJP government of inaugurating it in a hurry ignoring the flaws that was resulting in accidents. "I am going to Delhi and will meet Gadkari and ask him to rectify things (on the Expressway). A proposal for Rs 150.81 crore has been sent to the Centre for improving the service road," the Chief Minister said. According to him, the work will start from November this year. To a question on the alleged toll collection going on at those stretches which are still incomplete, the Chief Minister said the state government had no role to play as it is being done by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). "We are not ...

Cong high command to meet Karnataka leaders, ministers in Delhi on Aug 2

The Congress high command has convened two meetings with the party leaders in Karnataka in New Delhi on August 2, apparently to quell the dissidence brewing for some time now, top party sources said. According to sources in the Congress, the first meeting will take place between the party high command and the top Congress leaders in Karnataka. "In that meeting, party president Mallikarjun Kharge, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress president D K Shivakumar, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil, general secretaries K C Venugopal and Randeep Singh Surjewala, who is also the Karnataka in-charge and some other top functionaries will take part," a Congress office-bearer told PTI. The second meeting will take place with the Congress ministers where some senior party MLAs may take part, the office-bearer added. The meetings are taking place in the wake of the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) meeting on .

No funds for development work in constituencies: D K Shivakumar to MLAs

D K Shivakumar's statement comes a day after a letter from 10 MLAs of the ruling Congress to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah claimed that ministers were not paying heed to the MLAs' requests

Why do you have so much hatred for holy name of India?, Siddaramaiah to PM

Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for deriding the opposition alliance 'INDIA', citing reviled names such as East India Company and Indian Mujahideen, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday sought to know why he has so much hatred for the beautiful, melodious and holy name of India. Pointing out to the PM that Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi, who looted hundreds of crores of tax money of Indians and ran away from the country, too have his Modi surname, he wondered whether they can be compared to him. "Honorable Prime Minister @narendramodi, you have compared the alliance of opposition parties 'INDIA' to the East India Company and the Indian Mujahideen. Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi, who looted hundreds of crores of tax money of Indians and ran away from the country, too have your Modi surname ? Can they be compared with you?" Siddaramaiah asked in a tweet. Noting that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was sued for defamation, sentenced to two years in jail, and disqualified

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Karnataka HC to hear petition seeking CM Siddaramaiah's disqualification

The petition filed by a voter from the Varuna constituency, KM Shankara, which came up for hearing on Friday, alleges that the Congress party promised freebies for luring voters

K'taka HC to hear petition seeking Siddaramaiah's disqualification July 28

The High Court of Karnataka has said that it will hear on July 28 a petition challenging the election of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to the Assembly from Varuna constituency. The petition blames the election manifesto of the Congress party which promised five 'guarantees' as corrupt practices amounting to bribery and also undue influence under Section 123(2) of the Representation of the People Act. The petition alleges that Siddaramaiah had breached the provisions of the Constitution and the rules and guidelines under The Representation of the People Act. The petition claims that the The said guarantees are in the nature of offer and promises made by the candidate and by the Indian National Congress party. This was done with the consent of the respondent (Siddaramaiah). They are in the form of gratification to the electorate of Varuna Constituency and with the object of directly inducing the electorate to vote for the Congress party candidate namely the respondent. The consideratio

K'taka govt to spend Rs 52,000 cr schemes, retain fiscal deficit at 2.6%

The new regime raised the projection of nominal GSDP growth to 17.7 per cent against seven per cent by the previous BJP government for the current financial year

Govt to take firm decision on anti-farmer agriculture laws: CM Siddaramaiah

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said the government will take a firm decision on the anti-farmer agricultural laws implemented by the previous BJP government in the state. Speaking to a delegation of farmers led by legislators B R Patil and Darshan Puttannaiah, who met him today, Siddaramaiah said the government will take decisions to protect the interest of farmers. The Land Reforms Act has been discussed and a clear decision will be taken within the next session. There was a discussion in the House today about the amendment of the APMC Act. He said that a separate meeting will be held to discuss the problems of farmers in detail, a statement issued by the Chief Minister's office said.

May Oppn meeting lead to restoration of democratic values: K'taka CM

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday expressed hope that the meeting of Opposition parties here would lead to restoration of secular, socialist, and democratic values as enshrined in the Constitution. He welcomed the leaders of "prominent" opposition leaders in the country who have come together to fight against authoritarianism, communalism, and corruption. "May the seeds sown in this peaceful garden of harmony (Karnataka) bear the fruit to restore secular, socialist, and democratic values as enshrined in our Constitution," the Chief Minister said in a tweet. Leaders representing 23 parties looking to draw up plans for a joint fight against the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections next year, are expected to attend Tuesday's meeting.

Mamata to skip oppn dinner on Mon, to take part in discussion on Tue

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will not be attending an opposition dinner on July 17 as she has to follow post-surgery protocols, but will be part of the daylong meeting of the parties on July 18, sources in her Trinamool Congress (TMC) said on Saturday. Banerjee underwent a microsurgery on her left knee at the state-run SSKM hospital in Kolkata on Thursday. The TMC chief suffered a ligament injury on her left knee during the emergency landing of her helicopter at the Sevoke Airbase in north Bengal on June 27. "While her doctors have given her the permission to fly and attend the opposition summit, she has been advised rest. So she will skip the dinner, but will attend the daylong meeting on July 18," a source in the TMC said. A dinner for the opposition parties has been planned by Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in Bengaluru on July 17. TMC's national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien will be accompanying the West Bengal chief .

Karnataka CM, leaders protest against Rahul Gandhi's disqualification

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar along with a host of ministers, legislators and Congress top leaders in the state on Wednesday staged a "silent protest" here against the disqualification of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi from Parliament and the "politics of vendetta" unleashed by the Centre. This comes days after the party stated it would move the Supreme Court after the Gujarat High Court refused to stay Gandhi's conviction in a 2019 defamation case over his "Modi surname remarks. The protestors tied a black ribbon on their mouth to symbolically convey that the freedom of speech was in danger and anyone speaking against the Central government would face backlash. Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar and others held placards at the Freedom Park here with the photograph of Rahul Gandhi and a message that the "roar of the truth must prevail". Alleging that the BJP deployed "dirty tricks" to disqualify Rahul Gandhi from Parliament, the All India Congress Committe

2.2 mn BPL families may not get DBT benefit under Anna Bhagya scheme

As Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is set to launch Direct Benefit Transfer under the Anna Bhagya scheme on Monday, about 22 lakh families living Below Poverty Line (BPL) may not get the assistance immediately as they do not have bank accounts. Karnataka has 1.28 crore ration card of Antyodaya Anna Yojana and Priority Households and 99 per cent of these cards are seeded with Aadhaar numbers. Among them, 82 per cent comprising 1.06 crore of these cards are linked with active bank accounts. The cash will be transfered to those card holders. The remaining card holders will be intimated to open new accounts," an official statement said on Sunday. A total of 1.27 crore ration cards have one member designated as Head of the Households (HoH). "Cash will be transferred to the bank accounts of these HoH. Of them 94 per cent are women and five per cent are men," it said. The Congress had promised to give 10 kg rice to each BPL family member in the state under the Anna Bhagya scheme if