BANGALORE: Buoyed by the bypoll results, chief minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said they truly indicate his government’s good performance.
At a low-key ceremony to mark the Congress government’s 100 days in office, attended by lone minister HK Patil and some top officials, a beaming Siddaramaiah said, “People have already given their mandate. I’m sure they’re impressed with our programmes in the past 100 days.”
Releasing a 63-page report card printed in Kannada, christened ‘100 Days – Hundreds of Decisions’, the CM spoke for an hour, detailing the government’s achievements, but restrained from making his future plans known, citing the poll code. “The model code of conduct for the council polls will end on Tuesday. I will come out with my new plans some time next week,” he said.
So far, 60 of 160 promises made in the Congress manifesto have been fulfilled. “However, the future is going to be more challenging. We need to consolidate our achievements and give shape to our plans,” he added.
Siddaramaiah listed the top three achievements of his government: launching of Anna Bhagya and Ksheera Bhagya schemes, implementing a ban on gutka and revamping the Karnataka Public Service Commission’s (KPSC) examination system. “No government in the past has taken such decisions in such a short time,” said Siddaramaiah.
Reiterating his vow to make Karnataka a hunger-free state by 2018, a confident-looking CM said, “During electioneering in Bangalore Rural and Mandya, a BPL family told me they were able to save Rs 800 per month on food, thanks to the Anna Bhagya scheme, and that they would spend the same on their children’s education.”
On industrialization, he said investor interest in Karnataka is beginning to show. “I’ve cleared projects worth over Rs 14,000 crore in different sectors at the recent high-level committee meeting,” he said.
Agreeing that the Congress government has delivered on many fronts in the past 100 days, sustaining these programmes will be the biggest challenge, say political pundits.
