Congress MLAs demand Rs 10,000 for each BPL family

Bengaluru: Congress MLAs Priyank Kharge, Krishna Byre Gowda and Rizwan Arshad on Friday demanded that the State government deposit Rs 10,000 in the bank accounts of all BPL families to help them face the hard times arising from lockdown. They were of the view that this move would stimulate the economy.

They pointed out that last year the government had announced a relief package for the poor and working class families, but they never reached the beneficiaries.

They described the relief package announced by the Yediyurappa government recently as irrational.

"It is only an eyewash to escape from the moral and economic obligation of the government to help such families which have lost their livelihood due to

Covid lockdown. Among crores of farmers in Karnataka, the government is proposing to help only 89,000. What happens to the rest? Amongst 15-20 lakh auto and taxi drivers, the government is planning to cover only 2.1 lakh. Have the rest not lost their source of income? Gowda said.

"Some of our neighbouring States with less financial resources or a much weaker fiscal condition are finding the will and resources to put more relief money in the hands of the needy people. Why is it that Karnataka with greater resources is doing less to help people in this difficult time? This government is not only heartless. But it is also senseless. They do not have the basic economic sense that if you put money in the hands of poor people, they will spend it immediately on the essential needs of their family. This not only helps the poor but it helps the economy to bounce back. This is the best way to kick start the economic recovery. That is the reason for every important country in the world to have liberally helped poor families during the lockdowns," he added.

The Congress pointed out that compared to neighbouring Andhra Pradesh where the government is paying Rs 10 lakh compensation to the families for every person who dies due to oxygen shortage, Karnataka government is paying only Rs 2 lakh only for Chamarajanagar tragedy and nothing for similar deaths in Kalaburgi, Kolar and many other districts.

Kharge tore into the positivity campaign promoted by the government which he said was the only means to hide the Centre's inept handling of the crisis.

Taking on BJP leaders over seriousness of the crisis he quoted the BJP MP Pragya Thakur's suggestion of drinking cow urine to prevent Covid.