MYSURU: With Karnataka getting into the poll mood and BJP organising frequent rallies to woo voters from different strata of society, the party is now playing the social justice card to win over Dalits and backward classes. CM Basavaraj Bommai, who was here on Monday, launched a series of development projects in the Nanjangud Assembly constituency and claimed that the party will win the 2023 Assembly election with a big margin.
Without taking the name of Opposition leader Siddaramaiah, Bommai said a few leaders have made social justice their slogan, whereas BJP is implementing it in spirit as the party believes in inclusive growth. He said the opposition treats people as vote banks, while BJP has a sense of gratitude towards voters.
The government feels the pulse and aspirations of all communities and wants to improve their living condition and bring the marginalised to the mainstream, he said.
“We have exhibited the political will to increase the reservation for SC/STs and encourage them to pursue education by constructing 100 Ambedkar hostels, and mega hostels in education hubs,” he added.
He said the government has launched the Rs 80 crore Nugu lift irrigation and tank filling projects. He also announced that Badanavalu area, which is drought prone, will also be covered under the projects to provide villagers with drinking water. The government will extend all support to the Equality Complex in Nanjangud, he said and added that the temple town will be developed into a prominent tourism and religious centre.
Irrigation Minister Govind Karjol said the government has spent Rs 5,700 crore on works in the Cauvery basin and Rs 450 crore to strengthen 618 tanks.
GATHERING MORE DETAILS ON UCC FROM OTHER STATES, SAYS CM
Mysuru:Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said that the state government is gathering more information and monitoring developments in other states on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) before taking a decision on implementing it in the state.Bommai observed that the BJP has been talking about UCC for over three decades, and said that committees have been formed in other states to implement the code. However, he clarified that neither Union Home Minister Amit Shah nor any other ministers have spoken to him regarding the issue. Reacting to farmers’ allegation that the government procures paddy from only coastal areas, he said that farmers have a wrong notion that the paddy procurement centers have been opened in Mangaluru alone, adding that this has been done as the coastal region consumes boiled rice.
The government will open procurement centres in Mysuru, Mandya, Gangavathi, and in other places across the state, the CM said. When the chief minister was apprised that 135 heritage structures are lying in a dilapidated states, and experts have demanded Rs 500 crore per year for its conservation, he said that the proposal will be considered based on the financial situation. Meanwhile, commenting on the voter ID card which can be downloaded for Rs 300 from a website, he said that there are many websites from where the card can be downloaded which is being also looked into as part of the investigation, including reports that prime suspect in the Mangaluru blast case Mohammed Shariq had also been issued a voter ID.