Slamming BJP’s ‘anti-poor’ stance, CM Siddaramaiah challenges Union Home Minister Amit Shah for a discussion on guarantees

CM Siddaramaiah challenges Union Home Minister Amit Shah to a debate on guarantee schemes; accuses BJP of stealing and opposing social justice programmes.

Challenging Union Home Minister Amit Shah to a debate on guarantee schemes, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday, February 11, said that if the BJP leaders had any objection to guarantee schemes they should clearly state it and announce discontinuation of all guarantee schemes in BJP-ruled States. He also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “stealing” guarantee schemes that he had opposed earlier.

“Why are BJP leaders trying to destabilise guarantee schemes in Karnataka? Do they harbour hatred for the people of Karnataka? If Mr. Shah believes that the treasury is empty because of guarantee schemes, 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,” the Chief Minister said in a statement.

He said that while BJP leaders oppose the guarantee schemes in Karnataka, they are promising to implement the same guarantee schemes in BJP-ruled States. “Mr. Modi, who opposed our guarantee schemes, has now stolen not only our guarantee schemes but also the name ‘guarantee’ and is advertising under the same name. This shows the anti-poor stance and intellectual bankruptcy of that party.”

The real opposition is not to the guarantee schemes, but the beneficiaries of the schemes, he said, adding that historically the BJP and Sangh Parivar opposed any social justice programmes for the poor.

He remarked, “The Central government, which had refused to provide the rice required for the Anna Bhagya scheme, is now selling the same rice under the brand ‘Bharat’. The Central government, which had refused to provide rice at ₹33 per kilo when we asked, is now selling it at ₹29 per kilo.”

“Mr. Amit Shah, who speaks against our guarantee schemes, shows disdain for Kannadigas. Opposition to the Kannada flag, attempts at Hindi imposition, and the conspiracy to favour Amul over Nandini are all achievements of Mr. Shah. Disaster relief is provided by the Centre after a high-level committee meeting chaired by the Home Minister decides. Mr. Shah does not even call for such a meeting but comes to our State and lectures us,” Mr. Siddaramaiah said.

The CM observed that true devotion to God was in fact reducing the hardships of the poor and wiping their tears. “No matter how many times you chant the name of Rama while causing harm to the poor, it is futile. What is the use of offering Naivedya to God without providing food to the poor? What is the benefit of building temples for God without providing homes to the poor? Those who oppose the guarantee schemes cannot have the mercy of any Rama. They cannot have the blessings of Mother Chamundeshwari.”