Here are the big stories from Karnataka today

Karnataka Today newsletter: Five guarantees will continue in State, reiterates CM Siddaramaiah, and more

Putting to rest speculations about the Karnataka government planning to stop the five guarantee schemes or tweaking them with more exclusionary clauses, CM Siddaramaiah categorically said that they will be continued for the full term of his government. “We will give a befitting reply through economic growth of Karnataka to those who made the prophecy that the State will go bankrupt by these schemes,” he said, during his Independence Day address in Bengaluru on August 15.

There has been intense speculation on the future of the schemes as a few Ministers are said to be mounting pressure on the Congress government in Karnataka to “rethink” the contours of the schemes, as many rich and middle-class families have been benefiting from the schemes, apparently at the cost of developmental works and financial prudence.

Mr. Siddaramaiah also pointed to challenges in Centre-State relations, as the Central government had been discriminating in the allocation of funds to States. “By ignoring constitutional principles, there is a tendency to delay the financial share due to the States, which is not in the interest of the people. Unfortunately, States are compelled to seek legal recourse to obtain their rightful share from the Centre,” he deplored. 

This Independence Day is special for Belagavi as it celebrates the centenary of the 1924 Belgaum session of the Congress. It was the only session chaired by Mahatma Gandhi. While the Karnataka government has formed a consultative committee to seek suggestions on the celebrations, a group of Gandhians is planning a ‘Charaka marathon’ to commemorate the event.

The 39th all-India session of the Congress was held for three days in the last week of December 1924, in a field on the outskirts of Belagavi city, on Goa road. The road is now called Congress Road, and the venue is Veera Soudha. Three celebrations are being organised by three bodies this year — the State government, the Congress, and a set of Gandhians.

Has it been hot in Bengaluru the last few days? Yes, says the weatherman as the mercury went up from a maximum of 28.5 degree Celsius to 31 degree Celsius between August 10 and August 15. The officials of India Meteorological Department (IMD), Bengaluru said that the temperature has gone up in Bengaluru as the monsoon has weakened. 

After many spells of rain and cooler days since July, summer-like heat is back in August. Along with natural factors, urban effect is also in play in Bengaluru where the air does not retain its coolness due to concrete roads and huge buildings. The maximum temperature is expected to hover between 31 and 32 degree Celsius over the next few days, with light rainfall, in the city.