Bengaluru, June 3 (UNI) The BJP has called Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivkumar's press conference announcing implementation of 5 Guarantees as an apology for not being able to deliver on them.
The party also alleged that the Congress has taken the people of Karnataka for a royal ride, which will blow up in their faces, sooner than they think.
"Lots of questions and no answers… Congress has taken the people of Karnataka for a royal ride. This will blow up in their faces, sooner than they think," BJP's IT Cell Head Amit Malviya said in a series of tweets.
The first cabinet meeting was meant to allocate financial resources and pass a government order to notify implementation, but none of that happened, he said.
Let alone renege on the promise of implementing the Guarantees in the first cabinet, the Congress government has pushed out implementation till March 2024, which is as good as not implementing them, he said.
Malviya said there is no clarity or too many conditions to 5Gs implementation. "For example, the pre-poll promise of 200 units of free electricity now comes with a caveat: average of last 12 months + 10% top up. So, if you go above that but are still below 200 units, you have to pay. The promise of 200 free electricity units thus stands withdrawn. To make it worse, arrears till July 2023 have to be borne by individuals," he said.
Similarly, there is no clarity on the eligibility criteria for women promised a sum of 2,000 rupees per month, Malviya said.
"What is clear though is that all women won’t get it and they will have to apply through a portal for the government to evaluate. Will all women in a household get it or one? How will the beneficiary be decided? Will women in joint families be eligible or they have to be living separately? This could well lead to joint families breaking up, something Congress may want… Will they implement it by 15 August 2023, as declared, or default, again? No answers," he asked.
The original promise of delivering 10kg rice to every person has also been twisted beyond recognition and has been restricted to BPL and Antyodaya cardholders, Malviya said.
The Narendra Modi government already provides 5kg rice, so the Karnataka government may just top it up or provide alternate grains like millet, dal etc, he said.
"The state government has no idea how to go about it except to lean on the FCI. It is obvious that they were shooting off their mouth when they made these promises. But it is the poor who feel cheated at the end of it," Malviya said.
Free bus rides come with so many riders that it won’t be a pleasant ride anymore, even if the scheme is implemented, he said. "It has been limited to travel within the state on non-luxury, non-AC BMTC buses, with only 50% seats reserved for women," he said.
"So if you happen to board the bus when 50% of it is already occupied with women, then you will have to pay. Who decides if the bus is 50% occupied by women? No idea! Similarly, you have to be a native of Karnataka. How does one decide that? Aadhar, voter card, registered house, mobile billing address, gas delivery address? No clarity on that either," Malviya said.
Lastly, the Youth have been conned too, he said. "Unemployment allowance was guaranteed to all Degree (3,000 per month) and Diploma (1,500 per month) holders. But now it has been restricted to only those who graduated in the year 2022-23," BJP leader said.
Applicants must declare themselves as unemployed and register within 180 days of graduation, to get considered, but what happens to those who passed last year, Malviya asked.
"They were also promised an allowance during the campaign. Is there an age limit? What happens if someone is 52 and unemployed? Like Rahul Gandhi. Is he eligible too?" he questioned.
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