Bengaluru, 10 September

Former chief minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday said that the DK Shivakumar led government was moving in the “right direction” as he urged the Congress to focus on fulfilling its poll promises and ensuring that the five guarantees continue. 

Speaking at an event marking 100 days of the Congress government under Shivakumar's leadership, Siddaramaiah said the occasion should not be treated merely as a celebration but as an opportunity to assess whether the government was fulfilling its commitments to the people.

"These days are not meant merely for celebration. They are an opportunity and a responsibility to place before ourselves whether we are moving in the right direction or not," he said. “"I feel that the Shivakumar government is moving in the right direction."

Siddaramaiah said the five guarantee schemes (Gruha Jyothi, Gruha Lakshmi, Anna Bhagya, Shakti, and Yuva Nidhi) had been implemented despite criticism from the Opposition that they would bankrupt the State and leave no funds for development. About Rs 52,000 crore is being spent annually on the schemes, he said.

He said that the guarantees were necessary to reduce inequality and build an equal society in accordance with the Constitution.

"The ideals of the Constitution require us to build an equal society. When there is scope for oppression and exploitation, they can be stopped only when everyone gets equal opportunities," he said.

He said the Congress had fulfilled several other manifesto promises while continuing to provide funds for development works.

"All manifesto promises need not be implemented in one year. An honest effort should be made to fulfil all the promises over five years," he said, citing the previous Congress government's record of fulfilling 158 of the 165 promises made in 2013 under his leadership.

Siddaramaiah also called the BJP’ Ballari padayatra a “gimmick”, and saying that they disrupted the Assembly for ten days and did not discuss drought in the State. 

Siddaramaiah urged the government to immediately declare more eligible taluks drought-hit rather than depend entirely on assistance from the Centre.

He said 101 taluks had already been declared drought-hit and questioned whether the Centre would provide assistance.

"I have doubts whether the central government will come to your assistance. I doubt that it will. Please do not depend on that," he said.