From Our Special Secretariat

Daijiworld Media Network

Kalaburgi, Dec 22: In a major announcement on the day of liberation for the backward North Karnataka region when the Congress-led government at the Centre had granted the Special Status for the development of the region under Article 371J of the Constitution, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday promised to create a separate secretariat for the Kalyana Karnataka region.

Speaking to media persons at the Kalaburgi airport on Sunday, he said the people and elected representatives from the region had been demanding creation of a separate secretariat for the Kalyana Karnataka region so as to exclusively handle the issues pertaining to the region and the government intends to honour the promise by creating the separate secretariat.

Siddaramaiah said the 371-bed Jayadeva Hospital is being opened at Kalaburgi to honour the fulfilment of the implementation of the promise regarding Article 371J due to the tireless struggle by present AICC President Mallikarjuna Kharge, which would go a long way in tackling the health problems of the people in the region.

With farmers demanding the announcement of a special package to help the toor dal growing farmers, who are in distress, he said a committee had been constituted to study the problems and a special package will be announced based on the report.

The Chief Minister said the government would be setting up a separate unit of NIMHANS and diabetalogy in Kalaburgi.

Answering questions, Siddaramaiah said the vulgar comments by a person holding the stature of National General Secretary of BJP and a former Minister C T Ravi against Women’s and Child Welfare Minister Lakshmi Hebbalkar was “totally uncivilised and a criminal offence.”

The BJP MLC has himself admitted that he had used the sexually offensive term against Hebbalkar and mentioned that other MLCs have heard gthe BJP leader’s remarks, the Chief Minister added.