BENGALURU: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Siddarmaiah on Monday issued an ultimatum to Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa to reinstate his flagship Anugraha scheme. Ahead of the State budget session, the former CM said he would protest in the Assembly if the the State Government, which has allegedly stopped the scheme for the last two years, did not reinstate it. The scheme introduced by Siddarmaiah during his government was aimed at providing financial assistance of `5,000 for the accidental death of sheep and goats to sheep rearers and Rs 10,000 assistance for the accidental death of cattle for cattle owners.
Joining a protest organised by sheep rearers demanding the reinstating of the scheme, Siddarmaiah said Yediyurappa wasn’t even aware of such a scheme. “For two years now, the BJP government has stopped this scheme that helps poor cowherds and shepherds. The government hasn’t paid pending dues of `30 crore. When I raised this issue in the Assembly, the CM didn’t even know of such a scheme. Even after officials apprised him there has been no change,” he rued.
The former CM, who was caught on the backfoot over the Kurubas’ demand for ST status, hopes to raise the issue that will hugely impact people from his Kuruba community. Siddarmaiah, however, insisted that people from all castes and communities were onto sheep and goat rearing now. “Not just Kurubas. People from various communities rear sheep and goats. It isn’t limited to one community,” he said, adding that the assistance amount would be doubled if Congress came to power.
He had even written a letter to Yediyurappa demanding that the scheme be reinstated. The Congress has alleged that the government has continuously attempted to derail one flagship scheme after another ever since it came to power. For Siddaramaiah, the fight for the Anugraha scheme that benefits shepherds, is largely an attempt to minimise damage and criticisms from within the community after he chose not to participate in the Kuruba convention demanding ST status in February. He chose to stay away from the convention to keep his image, as a backward classes leader instead of only a Kuruba leader, intact.