BENGALURU: JDS leader H D Kumaraswamy on Wednesday said the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government has shot itself in the foot regarding the 10-kg free rice guarantee, and is now passing the buck on the Centre over its implementation.
“The government keeps on making excuses on the Anna Bhagya rice guarantee every day and fools the people of the state. The Congress just followed the advice of some election strategist and announced the guarantee without due diligence. Did they inform the central government about the additional free rice promise? Why should the Centre give rice now?” he told reporters on Wednesday.
Defending the Centre, he said it will have its own commitments and the Congress government should have its own plans to implement the schemes that it promised. “Did I ask the Union government for the financial assistance to waive of farm loans when I was chief minister. We generated funds from our own resources and took action,” he said.
Instead of pointing fingers at the central government and the Food Corporation of India, Siddaramaiah should have held talks on Anna Bhagya with Union Minister for Consumer Affairs Piyush Goyal, he noted.
The former CM also expressed doubts on the implementation of all the five guarantees promised by the Congress as he felt that there are problems in the guidelines. “The people might have voted the Congress to power owing to the guarantees, but now all are watching the drama of excuses,” he added.
The Gruha Jyothi scheme is also in a shambles and the vice-chancellor of Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) was shocked to see the inflated electricity bill, he said. He also criticised both the national parties -- Congress and BJP -- for indulging in politics over the guarantees.