Ramanagara
Minister Yatindra Siddaramaiah has said that Karnataka’s guarantee schemes will continue despite the financial burden associated with their implementation. His remarks came in Channapatna amid a discussion over comments made by Minister H.C. Balakrishna about the government’s financial constraints. Balakrishna recently said that managing the state’s finances would have been easier without the five guarantee schemes. He also pointed out that the government has to balance welfare commitments with salaries, development expenditure and assistance during difficult periods. At the same time, Balakrishna clarified that neither the government nor Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar intends to discontinue the guarantees. Responding to the issue, Yatindra said the guarantee schemes were commitments made to the people and that the government was responsible for implementing them. He maintained that new programmes were also being taken up alongside the guarantees. Yatindra also rejected claims that the state government had stopped development activities because of financial difficulties. He pointed to government spending on development projects as evidence that such activities were continuing. The issue comes amid an ongoing discussion about Karnataka’s finances. On September 23, Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar said the Finance Department had advised the government to spend judiciously in view of fiscal pressures and the state’s borrowing position. He also said that the five guarantees had been introduced in response to economic pressures faced by people. On the question of the Ahinda movement, Yatindra said it transcends party boundaries and described the empowerment of backward classes, minorities and Dalits as central to the Congress party’s stated ideology. He said efforts would be made to bring backward communities together and organize a large Ahinda convention as elections approach. The government has separately reiterated that the five guarantee schemes will not be discontinued. Chief Minister Shivakumar has previously said that beneficiary verification or changes in implementation should not be interpreted as a decision to end the schemes.
