Two Karnataka ministers want guarantee schemes tweaked only for poor

Two Ministers in the Congress government on Wednesday raised the pitch to tweak its much-touted 'guarantee schemes' to benefit only the economically-weaker sections to lessen the financial burden. 

Public Works minister Satish Jarkiholi said the state exchequer will be able to save at least ₹10,000 crore annually by excluding the rich from the schemes, which were pre-poll promises of the party. He called for a review of the five guarantee schemes so that only the economically weaker sections benefit from them.

According to political analysts, these promises played a key part in the Congress storming to power, dethroning the BJP, in the Assembly elections in May last year. However, the schemes failed to sway the voters in this year's Lok Sabha elections, in which the party bagged only nine seats of the total 28 in the State with the rest going to the BJP-JD(S) combine.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had, while presenting the state budget earlier this year, announced that ₹52,000 crore has been set aside for the five guarantee schemes during 2024-25. The schemes helped to put ₹52,000 crore in the hands of crores of people, an average of ₹50,000- 55,000 to each family every year.

Jarkiholi told the media, “I am not saying they (guarantees) should be stopped. People are saying that these guarantees should be given to the poor and not to the rich. “This is being discussed in hotels, among workers and everywhere. Even the Opposition is asking, 'Why are you giving to the rich?' Give it to the poor,” the minister said.

The guarantee schemes

The government has implemented its five poll guarantees – free rides for Karnataka women in non-luxury government buses under ‘Shakti’ scheme; free electricity up to 200 units for domestic consumers under 'Gruha Jyoti'; 'Yuva Nidhi' for unemployed graduates and diploma holders offering ₹3,000 and ₹1,500 a month for two years; 'Gruha Lakshmi' scheme which gives ₹ 2,000 to women head of the BPL families and 'Anna Bhagya' scheme offering 10 kg of free food grains to each BPL family member.

On whether revising the schemes would have a bearing on the popularity of the government, Jarkiholi said: “Who is scrapping them (guarantees)? We are not stopping it. It cannot be done outright. There is a Cabinet and legislative party. These decisions have to be taken at that level, not at my level. Party has to decide.”

MB Patil pitches in

Meanwhile, minister for large and medium industries and infrastructure MB Patil said these guarantees are the Congress’s commitment and so they will continue.

He, however, supported the idea of giving the benefit of these schemes only to the BPL families. “We have 82 per cent BPL families in the state. The objective is that the BPL families should get the benefit. There is a thinking going on for quite a long time like what is the point in people like M B Patil taking benefits of it,” Patil told reporters in his constituency Babaleshwar in Vijayapura district.

Stating that there was a need to have a comprehensive review of the guarantees, the minister said the state government will take appropriate steps at an appropriate time. However, home minister G Parameshwara declined to comment saying his view was not important and such decisions were taken in the cabinet meeting.

No question of scrapping guarantees: Deputy CM

Meanwhile, Karnataka deputy CM D K Shivakumar said the government will look into complaints against those who pay Goods and Service Tax and income tax but still avail benefits under the 'guarantee schemes' but asserted that there was no question of altering or scrapping the guarantee schemes.

“As the Congress state president, I am saying that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has said that there is no question of altering or scrapping the guarantee schemes for any reason,” Shivakumar told reporters.

“There are complaints that some people who have more income are availing this benefit. We will review that. That’s it. There are complaints that those who are paying income tax and GST are availing it,” he maintained.

He dismissed as "false" allegations that funds allocation for development works in assembly constituencies has come down. "This is the opposition party’s conspiracy which is not able to digest the success of these guarantees."

Opposition reacts

The Opposition BJP latched onto Jarkiholi’s statement.

BJP state chief B Y Vijayendra said the state government is "unable to take the burden of freebies as it has no money to do it." “In this background, it should not be surprising if the Congress leaders, who have raised objections against the guarantees through the ministers, not only try to curtail these guarantees, but stop them altogether,” he said in a post on ‘X’.

Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly R Ashoka said these five guarantees were bound to meet "such a fate" as they were introduced by the Congress government without “guaranteeing financial resources”.

(With inputs from agencies)