BENGALURU: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday challenged Union Home Minister and BJP top leader Amit Shah for an open debate on the Congress government’s guarantee schemes, which are being targeted by state BJP leaders. He timed his statement to Shah’s visit to Mysuru on Sunday.
“Shah is saying the treasury is empty because of the guarantees. If this is Shah’s firm opinion, he should participate in a public debate with me. I can prove that our treasury is not empty because of the guarantee schemes; instead, there is an unfair distribution of taxes from the Centre to the state. This is also a challenge to Amit Shah,” Siddaramaiah said in a media release.
“BJP leaders who oppose the guarantee schemes in Karnataka are promising to implement the same in the states they are governing. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who opposed our guarantee schemes, has now stolen our guarantee schemes and the name ‘guarantee’ and is advertising under the same name. This shows the anti-poor stance and intellectual bankruptcy of that party,” he said.
From the PM to Shah to local BJP leaders all are anti-poor and from time immemorial, BJP, Sangh Parivar and RSS have opposed schemes meant for the poor as they had opposed the ‘Garibi Hatao’ implemented by late prime minister Indira Gandhi, he said. “They have always opposed social justice including land reforms and reservations and hence the poor should give a fitting reply to them,” he said.
“The central government, which refused to provide rice required for the Anna Bhagya scheme, is now selling the same rice under the brand Bharat. It had refused to provide rice at Rs 33 per kilo when we asked but is now selling it at Rs 29 per kilo. Which means the BJP has intolerance towards the poor, farmers, women and workers of Karnataka,” he alleged.
He also came down on Shah in a series of posts on ‘X’, stating, “Home Minister @AmitShah looked down upon Kannadigas as he is talking against our guarantee schemes. Opposing the Kannada flag, trying to impose Hindi, the audacity to impose Amul on Nandini were all the achievements of Amit Shah.”