© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
A major talking point in the BJP manifesto in Karnataka is the promise to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), while the Congress has promised to extend the reservation ceiling from 50% to 75%, eradicate corruption in public works, and take strong legal action against groups such as the Bajrang Dal and the Popular Front of India (PFI) that “spread hatred on grounds of religion or caste”.
But how do the manifestos fare beyond these main points? The BJP has listed six promises in its manifesto — Anna (food security), Abhaya (social welfare), Akshara (education), Aarogya (health), Abhivrudhhi (development), and Aadaaya (income), apart from guarantees in other categories such as agriculture, rural development, economy and industry, and infrastructure. The Congress manifesto mentions five guarantees: Gruha Jyothi, Gruha Lakshmi, Anna Bhagya, Yuva Nidhi, and Shakti. The Opposition party’s vision document is divided into sections such as administration and governance, law and justice, regional and rural development, irrigation, and wealth creation.
📌 Inclusive Development and Social Welfare
BJP: In the inclusive development section, the ruling party has listed a promise to annually provide three cooking gas cylinders for free to all families below the poverty line (BPL) during the festivals of Yugadi, Ganesh Chaturthi, and Deepavali. The party also hopes to expand “multi-story housing schemes” to include all major cities and aims to build five lakh houses for the urban poor. It has also promised to set up an “Atal Aahara Kendra” in every ward of every municipal corporation in the state to provide affordable, quality and healthy food. It has also promised to bring in poshane scheme through which every BPL household will be provided half a litre of Nandini milk and monthly ration kits. The party has also promised to “end manual scavenging through mechanisation and adopt the Singapore model on a pilot basis in cities like Tumakuru and Hubballi-Dharwad”.
Congress: In the social welfare category, the Opposition party has mentioned its plans to increase the reservation ceiling from 50 to 75% to “accommodate the hopes and aspirations” of Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), Other Backward Classes (OBCs), religious minorities, Lingayats, and Vokkaligas. It has said it will increase the SC reservation from 15% to 17 %, the ST quota from 3% to 7%; and restore the Muslim reservation scrapped by the Basvaraj Bommai government. The party has also promised to release data from the Socio-Economic and Caste Census that the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government undertook in 2011 and present the data of the Justice Sadashiva Commission. which was constituted in 2007 to study internal reservations in the state. The report was submitted in 2012 but its findings have not yet been made public.
The party has also said it will provide a home to all SC-ST families in the next five years and restart the pre-metric SC-ST scholarship that the “central government has stopped”.
📌 Health
BJP: The ruling party has guaranteed an increase in the annual insurance coverage under Ayushman Bharat-Arogya Karnataka to Rs 10 lakh per family for BPL card holders. Through its “Swasthya Karnataka” mission, it hopes to establish a nursing college, a medical college and a super-speciality hospital in each district. It has also promised a “namma” clinic in every ward of every corporation and free annual health checkups for all senior citizens. Under its “Anaemia Mukt” scheme, it has proposed to scale up the provision of iron-folic acid supplements for children between six months and five years.
Congress: The Opposition party has promised the creation of mobile mini Primary Health Centres (PHCs) to take healthcare to remote areas during emergencies, calamities, and pandemics. The party has said it will fill up vacancies of staff and doctors in government hospitals; upgrade PHCs to equip them with labour wards, mini operation theatres and 20 beds; increase health expenditure to 5% of the GDP in line with the recommendations of the national health policy; and set up government-sponsored rehabilitation centres for drug addicts.
📌 Agriculture
BJP: The party has promised to ensure 1,000 farm producer organisations (FPOs), including 200 fishery FPOs, are established in five years; a comprehensive irrigation system is created through the Bagiratha Shapatha scheme, and a Rs 30,000 crore K-Agri fund is set up. The party has also proposed setting up cold storage facilities near airports and seaports for ease in exports, increasing incentives for dairy farmers to Rs 7 per litre, and launching mobile veterinary clinics.
Congress: The Congress, through its Krishi Sarvodaya Nidhi, has said it will allocate Rs 1.5 lakh crore in five years to modernise agriculture and provide subsidies, loans, and insurance. It has also promised to implement Minimum Support Price (MSP) based on the report of an agricultural price fixation commission, increase interest-free soft loans from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 10 lakh with a minimum interest of 3% up to Rs 15 lakh, and reimburse differential interest. The Krishna Unnati Nidhi programme guarantees loans to encourage start-ups and innovation with seed money of Rs 500 crore. The manifesto also speaks of promoting agro-based village industries by women through a Rs 200-crore investment and increasing Phase-3 electricity supply to rural farmers.
📌 Education
BJP: The party promised to triple Budget allocation for education to 6% of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), launch a “Pre-Kshana Mission” targeting pre-primary and primary children to achieve foundational literacy and numeracy by 2025; establish one Karnartaka Institute of Technology along the lines of the IITs in every district; implement a “Visveshwara Vidya Yojane” under which the state government will partner with eminent individuals and institutions for a holistic upgrade of government schools.
Congress: The Opposition party has said it will fill vacancies in teacher posts and other staff in government and aided schools within one year; reduce school fees, including slashing the fees of students from BPL families; reject the National Education Policy (NEP), and come up with a state education policy. Alleging that the BJP has “distorted textbooks” by “insulting great souls of Karnataka such as Vishwaguru Basavanna, Rashtrakavi Kuvempu”, the Congress has said it will restore the “true values of Bharath and Karnataka and scientific temper”. The manifesto has also proposed to bring under grants-in-aid the institutions providing education to PUCs run by SC-ST communities and started before 2012.
📌 Industry
BJP: It has promised a state credit guarantee trust scheme for MSMEs, giving collateral-free loans up to Rs 1 crore; the creation of a “plug and play” environment for MSMEs to access workspace, business services, and logistical support at a nominal rent in every district; a Rs 5,000-crore fund for start-ups in sunrise sectors; industry status for the Kannada film industry; and the establishment of “India’s largest film industry” in Mysuru.
The ruling party also aims to broaden the “scope of production-linked incentive scheme by incorporating a comprehensive scheme that encompasses logistic, industrial clusters, and export facilities generating 10 lakh manufacturing jobs”.
Congress: The Opposition party has promised uniform growth of Karnataka from Bidar to Chamrajnagar on highways. It speaks of constructing appropriate industrial parks and townships and connecting them to major ports and airports. “This corridor will encourage to create huge job potential in industries such as garment and textiles, light engineering, automobiles, among others,” reads the manifesto.
Additionally, the party has promised to establish a gold and diamond park in Mangaluru, develop industrial infrastructure in border areas in five years at a cost of Rs 5,000 crore, and Rs 200 crore budgetary provision to modernise jaggery production. On the MSME front, the party has proposed setting up a welfare fund worth Rs 1,000 crore.
