Cong govt guarantees are model for country, says Deputy CM Shivakumar

Karnataka's Congress government, led by Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, has completed three years in office, with its welfare initiatives becoming a model for other states.

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Wednesday hailed the Congress government's completion of three years in office, asserting that its guarantee schemes and welfare initiatives have become a model for the country.

Shivakumar, who is also the Congress Karnataka unit president, underlined that the BJP-ruled states had adopted similar programmes after initially criticising them.

As the Congress government completed its three years on Wednesday, Shivakumar asserted that the Siddaramaiah-led dispensation has fulfilled promises made to the people and claimed that welfare spending has directly benefited crores of families across Karnataka.

The Deputy CM said he had taken the lead in formulating the five guarantees in the Congress manifesto and decided what exactly should be given.

The five guarantee schemes are 'Gruha Jyothi' offering 200 units electricity free to every household, 'Gruha Lakshmi' scheme promising Rs 2,000 to every woman head of a family and 'Anna Bhagya' offering 10 kg rice to every member of the BPL family a month.

The Yuva Nidhi' promises Rs 3,000 dole to unemployed graduates and Rs 1,500 to unemployed diploma holders for two years (in the 18-25 age-group) and 'Shakti' scheme permits free travel for Karnataka women to travel within the state in government non-luxury buses.

According to him, Oxford University and Right Hub have done a research on the five guarantees, where they have described it as 'Shining a Light in the Darkness'.

The researchers said the Karnataka model bridges economic divides and advances human rights.

''Our government's three-year achievements are a model for the entire country,'' the Deputy Chief Minister asserted.

Taking a swipe at the BJP, Shivakumar said even states governed by the saffron party had eventually replicated the Congress government's welfare measures after opposing them initially.

''Leave Tamil Nadu, Kerala or Maharashtra aside - even in BJP-ruled states like Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar, those who criticised us eventually accepted our model. Some even released money before us,'' he said.

He further said that some BJP ruled states implemented it partially while some implemented it fully. Overall, these BJP ruled states used Karnataka model to win elections.

''They (BJP) have always followed what Congress has done. Whenever Congress brought a scheme, they later copied it in some form,'' Shivakumar claimed.

Highlighting the government's flagship guarantee schemes, Shivakumar said the Congress administration had already spent nearly Rs 1.30 lakh crore benefiting around 1.34 crore families in the state.

''At every stage we have taken decisions in favour of the people. Already through the guarantee schemes we are helping around 1.34 crore families. More or less Rs 1.30 lakh crore has already reached them,'' he said.

Listing out expenditures under individual schemes, Shivakumar said, ''Through Gruha Lakshmi alone, nearly Rs 69,000 crore has reached 1.24 crore women. Through Gruha Jyothi we have spent around Rs 26,000 crore for free electricity. Under the Shakti scheme for women's travel, around Rs 19,000 crore has been given to KSRTC and BMTC. Around Rs 12,000 crore has been spent on Anna Bhagya. Rs 950 crore has been spent on Yuva Nidhi.''.

The Deputy Chief Minister said the government had also expanded healthcare infrastructure across the state.

Shivakumar also defended the government against criticism from opposition parties, saying the Congress accepted criticism positively and used it to improve governance.