Mysore/Mysuru: Asserting that the five pre-poll guarantees of the Congress Government will be in force for full 5 years, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said here that there need not be any doubts regarding this.

He was addressing the beneficiaries of five Guarantees (Shakti, Anna Bhagya, Gruha Jyothi, Gruha Lakshmi and Yuva Nidhi) at a convention organised by the District Administration and Zilla Panchayat at Maharaja’s College grounds here on Mar. 15.

Pointing out that the people should not pay heed to opposition propaganda that the guarantees will be stopped soon after the LS polls, Siddaramaiah said his Government has got the people’s mandate for 5 years and hence the guarantees will continue.

Appealing the people to support the Congress in the LS polls, Siddaramaiah lashed out at Prime Minister Modi and other BJP leaders throughout his speech.

 Asking the opposition parties not to insult the five crore beneficiaries by promoting false propaganda, he targeted Modi saying that the Prime Minister continues to lie. Pointing out that the BJP leaders have no trust or respect for the Constitution, the CM wondered whether PM Modi had taken any action against his (Modi) MPs who have often raised their voice against the Constitution and speak of changing the Constitution if the BJP wins by a massive majority.

Questioning BJP’s contribution to Mysuru city and the district, Siddaramaiah contended that it was the Congress Government which is relentlessly providing funds for all developmental and infrastructure betterment works in the city.

Reiterating that the contribution of BJP was almost nil for the growth of Mysuru, the CM hit out at opposition leaders for unfairly targeting the Government ever since the implementation of 5 pre-poll guarantees.

Continuing, Siddaramaiah said the Congress Government has done everything it has said or promised to the electorate. Highlighting that guarantees were aimed at welfare of the people, he said that the guarantees have been introduced taking into consideration the poor from all sections of the society.

Recalling that Dharmasthala Dharmadhikari Dr. Veerendra Heggade has written a letter praising the Government for introducing Shakti scheme, under which women can travel for free in State Transport buses, the CM wondered whether Dr. Heggade, who was nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the BJP, can simply write a letter to him lauding the Shakti scheme.

Detailing the benefits of each of the five schemes introduced by his Government, Siddaramaiah said that the benefits are being extended to needy people based on the model of universal basic income.

“The BJP has been unable to digest the popularity of the guarantee schemes. Hence they are unnecessarily and unfairly targeting my Government by launching a false propaganda,” he said adding that the BJP had done little for the welfare of the poor and the distressed farmers.

District Minister Dr. H.C. Mahadevappa, in his address, said that the Congress Government has kept its words on all the pre-poll promises. Discounting the opposition claims that developmental works had come to a standstill under the Congress rule, he said that the welfare schemes are an effort at building an equal society.

Animal Husbandry Minister K. Venkatesh, who also spoke, said that people overwhelmingly voted for the Congress in last year’s Assembly polls, reposing faith in the Congress. He said the CM has instructed for 100 percent implementation of the schemes and called upon the people to avail the benefits of the schemes by submission of necessary documents.

MLAs K. Harishgowda, Tanveer Sait, Anil Chikkamadu, Darshan Dhruvanarayan, D. Ravishankar and A.R. Krishnamurthy, MLCs Marithibbegowda and Dr. D.Thimmaiah, Guarantee Schemes Implementation Authority Vice-Chairpersons  Dr. Pushpa Amarnath and Suraj Hegde, former MLA Dr. Yathindra Siddaramaiah, MUDA Chairman K. Marigowda, KEA Chairman Ayub Khan, Principal Secretary to the Government S. Selvakumar, Deputy Commissioner Dr. K.V. Rajendra, ZP CEO K.M. Gayathri, Additional DC P. Shivaraju, MCC Commissioner Dr. N.N. Madhu and others were present.

Huge crowd

The sprawling Maharaja’s College Grounds was witness to a huge gathering on Friday. Beneficiaries of the Government’s guarantee schemes, mostly women,  had thronged the venue from every nook and corner of the district. The officials had made travel arrangements for beneficiaries. However, the crowd had a hard time as they stood under the hot sun waiting for the CM and other dignitaries to arrive.