Will Fight Till Centre Rolls Back VB–G RAM G Act, Says Siddaramaiah
He was speaking after inaugurating and laying foundation stones for works of various departments in Sedam.
Kalaburagi: Accusing the Centre of snatching away the right to employment and committing injustice against workers, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said the agitation would continue until the VB–G RAM G Act is withdrawn by the union government.
He was speaking after inaugurating and laying foundation stones for works of various departments in Sedam.
“By changing the Act named after Mahatma Gandhi and renaming it as VB–G RAM G, they are killing Mahatma Gandhi for the second time. This is neither Dasharatha Rama nor Kausalya Rama. It is Nathuram,” he remarked, in a sharp attack on the Centre.
Under the new framework, the Centre contributes only 60 per cent of the funds, while States are required to bear 40 per cent, he said. “Our party has taken this very seriously and is preparing for a legal battle. A special session will be convened to discuss this issue,” he added.
Siddaramaiah said development works worth Rs 1,595 crore had been launched earlier in Jewargi and Sedam. In Sedam constituency alone, foundation stones were laid for projects worth Rs 579.68 crore, while works worth Rs 108.35 crore were inaugurated. “Our government has fulfilled most of the promises made before the elections,” he said.
Highlighting the impact of Article 371(J), Siddaramaiah said it had enabled 10,000 doctors, 30,000 engineers, 12,000 dentists and several other highly educated professionals to emerge from the region. “Seventy per cent reservation was provided in Kalyana Karnataka. All this was possible only because of the Congress government,” he said.
He added that around 85,000 people had secured government jobs and assured that vacant posts would be filled in phases.
Siddaramaiah alleged that despite being in power for four years after 2018, the BJP government failed to fulfil even 10 per cent of the promises it had made. “BJP and JD(S) leaders are indulging in misinformation and false propaganda. People must understand the truth,” he said.
The Chief Minister said the Prime Minister and others had criticised the guarantee schemes, claiming they would bankrupt the State. “However, within two-and-a-half years of coming to power, ₹1.12 lakh crore has been spent on guarantee schemes. If the treasury had no money, it would not have been possible to launch projects worth ₹680 crore today,” he asserted.
He said Article 371(J) would not have been implemented without the efforts of Mallikarjun Kharge and Dharam Singh.
