Opposition attacks Karnataka govt over riders in Rs 2,000/month plan

BENGALURU: The Karnataka government's guidelines for the Gruha Lakshmi scheme issued late Tuesday night came in for criticism with the opposition latching on to the riders and saying that Congress' poll promises are an eyewash. Among the eligibility criteria stipulated for the scheme is that the woman or her husband should not be paying income tax or filing GST.
Keen to avoid a backlash with Lok Sabha polls less than a year away, CMO officials claimed that a "revised" government order (GO) is likely to be issued. CM Siddaramaiah is said to have discussed the scheme with the departments concerned and asked officials to rework the GO. tnn
An official said: "The I-T assessee part is expected to be dropped and all APL, BPL and Antyodaya card holders will be included."
While women and child welfare minister Laxmi Hebbalkar was not available for official comments, senior cabinet ministers said the government may not make major changes in the GO and it will be restricted to only "clarifications".
"We do not expect any major changes and a revised GO will only spell out a cap on the GST refund and I-T returns, over and above which the rest will be excluded," said a minister, adding 88 per cent of Karnataka's population are BPL card holders and the rest 12 per cent are not all 'Congress voters'.
"Another day, another betrayal by Congress. After promising Rs 2,000 every month to the woman head of every family, Siddaramaiah government has released its long list of conditions - excluding goverment and private employees, entrepreneurs & those filing I-T returns or getting GST refunds. In other words, a significant number of women have been left out," chided Bangalore South MP Tejasvi Surya.
The riders in Gruha Lakshmi which was preceded by those for Gruha Jyothi (free power of up to 200 units) and Shakthi scheme (free bus passes to women) have put the Congress government on the back foot.
Congress insiders say that the Gruha Lakshmi scheme, when designed as a poll guarantee and launched by party national general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, was meant to be "universal" with every woman in the state eligible for it.
On Wednesday morning, deputy CM DK Shivakumar defended the government's decision to exclude I-T assessees from the scheme by claiming that several individuals and organisations have said they do not need the Rs 2,000 per month. "We had decided to give the scheme to the poor. No I-T assessee will come and ask for the money."
Free bus ride
The CM on Wednesday evening took stock of the preparations to roll out the free bus ride for women and the Anna Bhagya scheme of 10 kg rice. On June 11, Siddaramaiah will take a ride with women passengers on a BMTC bus to launch the Shakthi scheme