Taking a dig at Congress leaders for protesting by tucking flowers on their ears in the Assembly during the presentation of the State Budget on Friday, Minister for Transport and Tribal Welfare B. Sriramulu said that people will trick Congress leaders in the upcoming Assembly elections by keeping flowers on their ears.
“The Congress had kept flowers on people’s ears (fooled people) all these years, now people have tucked flowers on their ears and will continue to do so in the ensuing polls too,” Mr. Sriramulu said.
Addressing a press conference in Ballari on Saturday, the Minister said that the 2023-24 State Budget presented by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai was with an objective of building a new Karnataka. He refuted the allegations that the Budget was prepared with an eye on the upcoming Assembly elections.
He said that in the total outlay of ₹3,09,182 crore, ₹39,031 crore has been set aside for agriculture and allied activities, ₹46,278 crore for women empowerment and welfare, ₹30,215 crore for Special Component Plan (SCP) and Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) and ₹1,842 crore has been allocated to six corporations of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
“Besides this, our [BJP] government has taken steps to amend the Prohibition of Transfer of Certain Lands (PTCL) Act 1978, following a Supreme Court order,” he said.
The Budget has also proposed to set up a mega dairy with a capacity of two lakh litres per day at a cost of ₹100 crores in Ballari district. And, this will give an impetus to dairy farming in Kalyana Karnataka region, Mr. Sriramulu added.
As per a promise made by the Bommai-led government, the Chief Minister has increased the special grants to Kalyana Karnataka Regional Development Board (KKRDB) from ₹3,000 crore to ₹5,000 crore.
The government has proposed to develop a road from Hubballi-Hosapete section to the Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh border area at a cost of ₹2,200 crore. And, it will also develop a four-lane Bidar-Kalaburagi-Ballari road at a cost of ₹7,650 crore.
Mr. Bommai has also given top priority to the Transport Department. The government has decided to provide free bus passes to women workers in the organised sector. Free bus pass will also be given to school and college girl students under the Vidya Vahini scheme.
Though the BJP-led government has given a pro-poor budget, the Congress leaders have protested by keeping flowers on their ears during the presentation Budget, Mr. Sriramulu said and called it a publicity stunt. He said that the voters will again teach the Congress a lesson in this election.
