The tug-of-war between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar over the CM post turned into a war of words on Thursday as the two faced off over keeping up a promise.
A new report indicates that increasing unconditional cash transfer schemes for women across 12 Indian states are impacting their fiscal health, with six states projecting revenue deficits.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah alleged that the rushed approval and distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine may be a contributing factor to cardiac arrest deaths, citing several international studies that recently suggested a possible link between the vaccines and a rise in heart attacks.
After remaining vacant for nearly 25 years, the official residence of Odisha chief minister in the state capital welcomed a new occupant as Mohan Charan Majhi formally moved in on Thursday.
Another maternal death has been reported at the Ballari Medical College and Research Centre (BMCRC), bringing the total number of such fatalities in the past month to five.
"Gruha Lakshmi" scheme, rolled out amid fanfare, is one of the five pre-poll 'guarantees' of the Congress, which ousted the Bharatiya Janata Party from power in the May assembly elections.
Karnataka minister Satish Jarkiholi on Wednesday said the guarantee schemes need to be reviewed so that only the economically weaker sections, and not the rich, benefit from them, sparking a debate on the ambitious programmes launched by the Congress government.
The government has already implemented one of its five poll guarantees, "Shakti", by providing free services for women in public transport buses.
The announcement came after the chief minister held a high level meeting with senior government officials on Thursday to discuss the implementation of both schemes, which are part of five poll guarantees of the Congress.
The ruling Congress posted a video along with a statement on social media platform X, criticising the Janata Dal-Secular leader and son of former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda.
With six children of Karnataka ministers in the Lok Sabha poll arena, the campaign scene is getting spiced up in the high-stakes elections for the ruling Congress in the state.
There was such a rush that more counters were opened outside the GPO building, under the open sky, he added.
In the manifesto for the polls released in Bengaluru by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in the presence of the state unit chief D K Shivakumar and Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah and others, the party reiterated its five guarantees: Gruha Jyothi, Gruha Lakshmi, Anna Bhagya, Yuva Nidhi and Shakti.
Priyank Kharge on Wednesday said criteria and frameworks are being decided for its implementation.
Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge on Friday said that the Congress government will try to implement the five poll guarantees as soon as possible, but there will be certain 'rules and regulations'.
While the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party hit out at the MLA and the Congress government, Shivakumar seeking to clarify, said no guarantee scheme will be stopped and it will be continued for five years.
Will the new Congress government implement the five 'guarantees' that helped it in part to wrest power from the Bharatiya Janata Party in toto or will they now add a "conditions apply" clause?
He also said the mandate given by the people is to give a pro-people administration and not for "enjoyment".
All eyes are set on the Karnataka cabinet meeting on Friday where a decision will be taken on implementing the five guarantees promised by the ruling Congress during the assembly elections in May.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said tenants are also eligible to avail the 'Gruha Jyoti' scheme, under which 200 units of free power will be provided to all domestic consumers in the state from July 1.
The Karnataka government issued orders to implement the 'Gruha Jyoti' and 'Shakti' schemes.
Gandhi said the 5 'guarantees' promised by the party will be implemented within a few hours after the first Cabinet meeting.
The first Karnataka legislative assembly session, after the formation of the new government will be held on starting Monday next week in Bengaluru.
Sidda launches free bus travel scheme for women
The Cabinet held a detailed discussion regarding the five guarantees and its implementation, and has arrived at decisions, Siddaramaiah who headed the meeting told reporters.
Her remarks in a post on X came after BJP IT department head Amit Malviya claimed that a 'tussle' was going on between Priyanka Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.
The implementation of the five 'guarantees' announced by the Congress may cost the state exchequer an estimated Rs 50,000 crore annually.
The first Cabinet meeting was held immediately after Siddaramaiah was sworn in as Chief Minister, and D K Shivakumar as Deputy Chief Minister along with eight MLAs as Ministers.
Asserting that his government will implement the five poll 'guarantees' promised ahead of the assembly polls, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said officials have shared their inputs on financial implications, and the cabinet will meet on June 2 to decide on the implementation.
'Factors such as working professionals seeking better lifestyles, traditional housing challenges, community and networking, and urban migration for jobs are driving the growth in the co-living segment.'
The chief minister on Monday held consultations with senior officials of finance, transport, food and civil supplies, energy and other departments and asked them to prepare a report on the implementation of the guarantees.
According to Congress, the five schemes are 200 units of free power to all households (Gruha Jyoti), Rs 2,000 monthly assistance to the woman head of every family (Gruha Lakshmi), 10 kg of rice free to every member of a BPL household (Anna Bhagya), Rs 3,000 every month for unemployed graduate youth and Rs 1,500 for unemployed diploma holders (both in the age group of 18-25) for two years (YuvaNidhi), and free travel for women in public transport buses (Shakti).
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday launched payment of cash in lieu of the additional 5 kg of rice to beneficiaries under the government's 'Anna Bhagya' scheme.
Zerodha and True Beacon co-founder Nikhil Kamath, along with Abhijeet Pai, has invested in Omnipresent Robot Tech through their investment arm Gruhas Proptech. This round also saw co-investments from Kavin Shah, and other individual high networth individual (HNIs), according to a statement released on Thursday. However, the amount invested by Kamath and Pai has not been disclosed.
He said, the fresh budget of the new Congress government, which he will be presenting on July 7, is likely to be of the size Rs 3,35,000 crore.
'Gruha Lakshmi Yojana' is an attempt of the Congress party to share the 'burden of the exorbitant' LPG prices and the 'costly daily expenses' that a woman has to bear, the party said.
Karnataka chief minister-designate Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar arrived in New Delhi on Friday to discuss with the party's high command the names of ministers to be inducted into the new cabinet and the allocation of portfolios.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday hailed the party's performance in the Karnataka assembly polls as the victory of politics that unites the country.
Announcing the fifth poll 'guarantee' of the Congress ahead of the May 10 assembly polls in Karnataka, party leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday promised free travel for women in public transport buses, if it's voted to power in the state.
Modi said what is the meaning of its guarantees when that party's warranty itself has expired.
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