Bengaluru, Aug 30 (IANS): Former minister and sitting BJP MLA S T Somashekar on Wednesday celebrated the launch of the Gruha Lakshmi scheme in his Yeshwanthpur constituency in Bengaluru.
The Griha Laxmi scheme was launched by the Congress government which will provide Rs 2,000 monthly allowance to 1.10 crore women heads of the families in the state.
However, the BJP MLAs and leaders maintained distance from the launch of the Gruha Lakshmi scheme across the state.
“I am carrying out a little service to implement the Gruha Lakshmi scheme. This programme is to bring awareness among the beneficiaries,” BJP MLA Somashekar said.
“I can’t see any lacunae in the Gruha Lakshmi scheme. The women head of the families will get Rs 2,000 through the programme. Allow people to make any type of remarks but this is a government programme,” MLA Somashekar said.
Sources said that BJP MLA Somashekar is all set to join the Congress. Most of his followers have already joined Congress and claimed that their leader will definitely join them soon.
Former minister M P Renukacharya had also met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar.
He had later said that if the present situation continued in the state, the BJP party would vanish from Karnataka.
Congress had mocked BJP leaders after they were not allowed to receive Prime Minister Modi nor were allowed to go near him during his visit to the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) in Bengaluru. The state BJP leaders also faced major embarrassment as PM Modi cancelled his roadshow.
Rahul Gandhi has said that guarantee schemes launched in Karnataka are role models for the country. He had also stated that they would be replicated in the rest of the country.
Congress government has said that the Gruha Lakshmi scheme is going to reach out to 1.10 crore women; Gruha Jyothi scheme has reached 1.41 crore households and they have got zero electricity bills; 48.5 crore women have travelled in buses freely and 1.39 crore households are benefited by the free rice programme.
The Cauvery river dispute, announcement to scrap NEP, removal of texts of BJP’s iconic freedom fighter Veer Savarkar and RSS founder Keshav Baliram Hedgewar have not impacted the Congress government either.
The grand old party has positioned itself in a dominating position in the state politics by not allowing BJP to play its Hindutva trump card. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and their entire cabinet has also visited the Chamundeshwari Temple in Mysuru and offered special prayers. The decision to stop funds for renovating temples was reversed in no time as it threatened to snowball into a major issue.
Also, the Congress high command has managed to ensure coordination and unity between the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar. On the other hand, the BJP high command seems to have lost interest in the Karnataka state party unit. The leaders in state are also clueless on the appointment of leader of the opposition.