From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network
Belagavi, Dec 15: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday reiterated the stand that the Congress government was fully committed to the development of the North Karnataka region and termed the demand for a separate state as unjustified nor an answer to the region’s backwardness.
Replying to the debate on the demand for grants for the supplementary estimates in the Belagavi session of the State Legislature, he criticized the demand for a separate state for the region as totally wrong and unjustified besides being an insult to the people who fought and sacrificed for the unification of the state.
Siddaramaiah said several stalwarts had fought for the unification of Karnataka and even laid their lives. There are people who fought for the creation of linguistic states, and stalwarts like Mallikarjuna Kharge, Dharam Singh, Vaijanath Patil, and many others had fought for the special status and introduction of Article 371 (J) for the Hyderabad Karnataka region.
"We will be insulting our veteran leaders if we speak of the creation of a separate state," he said, declaring that the Congress party and its leaders have always stood for the development of the north Karnataka region.
The Chief Minister said it was necessary to fight for ensuring the allocations for the development of the region are spent. Kittur Karnataka, Kalyana Karnataka, and Mumbai Karnataka regions need to progress and develop so that the entire state could prosper.
He promised to constitute a high-power committee for monitoring the implementation of the Dr. D M Nanjundappa panel’s recommendations so that all the backward taluks could develop. The proposed committee will be headed by a noted economist, he said.
Siddaramaiah said the government will completely waive the interests on medium and long-term cooperative farm loans if the principal amount has been repaid. "Though we have not given a promise in our electoral manifesto, the government has taken a decision in the first cabinet meeting of the new government," he said.
Attacking senior BJP leader and its former chief minister B S Yediyurappa for threatening to launch an agitation if the government fails to waive farm loans, Siddaramaiah said: "Unlike BJP, we have not made any electoral promise to waive farm loans and yet have announced the waiver of interest dues if the principal amounts of the cooperative farm loans are repaid. The BJP had promised the waiver of all farm loans from cooperative and nationalized banks up to Rs 1 lac in its 2018 manifesto. BJP ruled the state for four years and both Yediyurappa and Basavaraj Bommai have served as chief ministers. Have they waived even a single paise of farm loans?"
When the farmers suffered due to drought and loss of crops due to floods and were demanding the waiver of farm loans, the then chief minister Yediyurappa had said: "Do we have note-printing machines to waive farm loans?" He made the same statement in the legislature too, said Siddaramaiah.
The Chief Minister said the government is creating a new industrial estate of 2000 acres near Belagavi and another foundry cluster in 500 acres besides taking steps for the development of aerospace industries. An industrial cluster is being formed in Dharwad while textile-based industries will be established in Raichur district along with steel-based industries in Vijayapura and Ballari districts. All these steps will lead to rapid industrialization and the creation of more jobs besides the development of the entire region, he added.
He also promised steps for completing all the pending irrigation projects and helping the farmers.