The Indira Canteen will soon be extended to all district headquarters in the State. Sources said that the decision to expand the programme was taken recently following the positive response it received in Bengaluru.
However, there is no clarity on the budgetary allocations to the expansion and whether it will happen before the polls in April 2018. Sources said that the Congress may include expansion of Indira Canteen in their poll manifesto.
Mr. Siddaramaiah said: “Malnutrition figures for Bengaluru are staggering: 28% children below five years, 13% women and 10% men suffer from it. Compared to other States in South India, Karnataka also has more severe hunger issues,” he said making a case for the subsidised canteens.
Meanwhile, Mayor G. Padmavathi coined a new slogan: ‘hasivu (hunger) hatao’.
‘Pro-poor schemes are worth emulating’
AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi in a slip of tongue said Amma instead of Indira, referring to J. Jayalalithaa’s flagship programme in Tamil Nadu, on which the Indira Canteens are modelled.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, in his speech, said while there were criticisms that the canteens were a copy of Amma Canteens, he had no problem with the comparison. “I want to say any pro-poor measure done by anybody is worth emulating and I’m the first one to do so. Amma Canteens only serve breakfast and lunch, unlike our canteens that even serve dinner,” he said.