BENGALURU, 24 FEB

The guarantee schemes launched by Congress will continue to its next term as well, said Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar at a conference of guarantee schemes’ beneficiaries in Shivamogga on Saturday. “I am promising the youth, farmers and women who have gathered today that Congress will never stop guarantee schemes,” he said.

Responding to BJP leaders’ accusations that Congress will stop guarantee schemes after Lok Sabha polls, he said, “Whatever the BJP leaders say is a lie. Your Congress government will be in power not only for the next four years but for nine years including the next five years.”

Shivakumar said BJP does politics based on emotions whereas Congress does politics based on the needs of the people. “This is the difference between BJP and us,” he added.

About the Ram Mandir inauguration in Ayodhya, Shivakumar said the temple is nobody's property. “A temple is a place where business takes place between the devotee and the Lord. BJP is getting publicity on Ram Mandir issue. It was Rajiv Gandhi who first allowed worship in Ayodhya,” the Deputy Chief Minister said.

“There should be religion in politics not politics in religion. Our five guarantee schemes are not given based on caste and are given based on policy. The schemes do not belong to one class of people. Whenever the Congress government came to power, it made a programme for all classes of people,” he said.

Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which sought to collect funds from temples with over Rs 10 lakh annual income was defeated by Opposition in Legislative Council on Friday. Shivakumar said the bill will be passed when Congress achieves a majority in the Council in three months. “We intended to take 10 per cent of the revenue of bigger temple to provide insurance and education to the children of priests. BJP and JD(S) leaders who do politics based on religion did not pass the bill,” the KPCC President said. -Salar News