The seven major obstacles facing CM Siddaramaiah as Congress begins its Karnataka innings
On May 20, the new Congress chief minister of Karnataka, Siddaramaiah, took the oath of office in Bengaluru, along with his deputy, D.K. Shivakumar, and eight ministers. This was also a huge show of strength by opposition leaders from across the country.
The Siddaramaiah cabinet approved the implementation of the party’s “five election guarantees” in one of its first decisions. These are a set of welfare measures that, while appealing to voters in the election, will significantly increase the state’s subsidy bill and put a tremendous strain on the budget. The five sops are 200 units of free capacity to each family, 10 kilos of foodgrains for BPL families, month to month stipend of Rs 2,000 for each lady who heads a family, joblessness give of Rs 3,000 for graduates and Rs 1,500 for certificate holders for a considerable length of time, and free travel for ladies in state transport transports.
In fact, the public’s perception of the Congress regime will be influenced by a number of significant promises competing for government attention. The seven primary difficulties:
* THE ‘FIVE Certifications’: Subsidies already cost Karnataka Rs 31,367 crore annually. The “five guarantees” will necessitate additional expenditures, making it difficult to manage the state’s finances.
* VACANCIES OF THE GOVERNMENT: The Congress has vowed to top off opening in all administration divisions in a year. 33% of the absolute 769,000 government occupations are lying empty.
* RESERVATION FOR OBC: The survey statement vows to build the booking roof from 50% to 75 percent. This includes raising the reservation rate for other OBC groups and restoring the 4% reservation for Muslims.
* Position Statistics: The Congress has vowed to deliver the financial standing review done during the past Siddaramaiah term (2013-18). Cold storage has been used to store the contentious census.
* OLD Annuity Plan (Operations): The manifesto for the poll promises to “sympathetically consider” expanding the OPS to include pensionable employees who joined the workforce after 2006.
* POLITICS FOR STATE EDUCATION: The manifesto says that the State Education Policy will replace the National Education Policy.
* BENGALURU FIX: The manifesto promises to establish a massive “Bengaluru Region” and enact comprehensive legislation specifically for the management of the municipal corporation Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike.
