The State government’s proposal to provide an additional incentive of Rs. 2 a litre of milk for Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe dairy farmers created a furore in the Legislative Assembly on Monday. There were heated exchanges between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Leader of the Opposition Jagadish Shettar, with other Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party members joining in.
Trouble began when Mr. Shettar expressed concern over the move to provide additional incentive only to SC/ST farmers. He said the move would amount to discriminating farmers on the basis of caste, and that all farmers, irrespective of their caste, should be given the incentive.
Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister T.B. Jayachandra explained that such a proposal was taken up only for SC/STs as the expenditure was to be borne from the funds reserved for their welfare under the Karnataka Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan and Tribal Sub-Plan Act, which has made it mandatory for all departments to earmark funds for SC, ST welfare in proportion to their population.
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Making it clear that the issue was still at the proposal stage, he said the government was also considering providing assistance for about 30,000 SC, ST farmers to buy cows.
Intervening during the reply, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah tried to stress the fact that the government was yet to issue a notification regarding the proposal and that objections to it were unreasonable.
This evoked a sharp reaction from Mr. Shettar, who accused the government of creating friction among different castes through discriminatory policies. Angered by his statement, Mr. Siddaramaiah shot back: “It is the BJP that indulges in creating friction among different communities. You are trained in such strategies.”
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Amid the din, Mr. Shettar taunted the Chief Minister saying the Congress had lost the Lok Sabha elections mainly due to such an “appeasement” policy. Replying in a similar manner, Mr. Siddaramaiah said the BJP too had lost power in the State as “people were upset with its leaders indulging in corrupt activities”.
At this juncture, BJP member Vishveshwara Hegde Kageri wondered if the Chief Minister had genuine concern for the welfare of Dalits, he must appoint Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president G. Parameshwara, who is a Dalit, as Deputy Chief Minister. Mr. Siddaramaiah replied: “First you prove your commitment to Dalit welfare by appointing a Dalit as your party State president.”
Support from JD(S)The verbal exchange stopped after Speaker Kagodu Thimmappa intervened. However, the Opposition party Janata Dal (Secular) made it clear that it would support the move to provide additional incentive to SC, ST dairy farmers and urged the government to issue a Government Order in this regard.