Politics
You Decide How 'Neech' They Are: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah Lashes Out At Centre Over Rice Procurement
Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah (Pic Via Twitter)
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has accused the BJP government at the Centre of being anti-poor and pro-capitalists.
He further criticized the BJP, labelling the party as 'neech' (despicable) and anti-humanity for denying the additional supply of rice that would have aided the poors in the state.
The Congress government in Karnataka had requested rice from the Centre to provide an extra 5 Kg of rice to every beneficiary under the state's Anna Bhagya Scheme.
Siddaramaiah, reflecting on his previous tenure as CM, expressed disappointment with the previous BJP government's decision to reduce the quantity of free rice from seven kgs to four and five kg.
“When I was the CM during my previous tenure, I was giving seven kg rice free but the previous BJP government reduced it to four kg and five kg. During the assembly election, I promised that we will give an additional five kg more,” Siddaramaiah was quoted as saying by NDTV.
The Chief Minister also revealed that an agreement had been reached with the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to procure the required rice.
The FCI had assured the state government of its commitment to providing the necessary rice.
“We trust them (FCI) but the Centre denied us rice. We did not ask for rice for free. We were ready to pay for it. When we asked for rice, they agreed and then backtracked. You have to decide how ‘neech' (despicable) they are," he said.
Siddaramaiah said that the Centre's behavior reflects its anti-poor stance and lack of humanity.
"They are anti-poor. They don't have humanity,” Siddaramaiah said.
On the Centre's stance on supply of rice to Karnataka, the Chief Minister alleged, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that if free rice is given to the poor people, those states will go bankrupt. We told him that we will implement the five guarantees and we will not let the state go bankrupt".
The Chief Minister also mentioned that four out of the five poll guarantees made by the Congress have already been implemented in the state.
These guarantees include 'Shakti,' which offers free bus rides to women in non-luxury government buses, 'Gruha Lakshmi,' providing Rs 2,000 to the women heads of families, 'Gruha Jyothi,' promising up to 200 units of free electricity to each household, and 'Anna Bhagya,' offering 10 kg of rice to BPL families.
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