Udupi, Feb 14: Reminding that Congress provided 50 per cent reservation in the three tiers of panchayati raj institutions in Karnataka, film actress turned politician Jaimala said that the Siddaramaiah led state government was committed to empowering women and strengthening the panchayati raj system.
She was speaking after inaugurating a district-level workers convention titled ‘Mahila Shakti’ organised by the district Mahila Congress committee here.
Ms. Jaimala said that it was the Congress which had provided 50 per cent reservation in the three tiers of panchayati raj institutions in the State. This move went a long way in empowering women.
The Siddaramaiah government had completed half of its five-year term. The Congress workers should impress upon the voters to elect the party in the zilla and taluk panchayat elections. Having the same party in power at the State-level and in zilla and taluk panchayats would help in the implementation of development works.
It was to help the poor that the Congress launched the Anna Bhagya scheme where rice was being provided for free to the poor. When the Anna Bhagya scheme was launched, there was a lot of criticism against it. Some people said that it would make poor people lazier. Others wondered how it could be implemented. But this scheme had been successfully implemented in the last two-and-a-half years.
Unlike previous governments, the Siddaramaiah government had also shown its concern for the transgenders by launching various schemes for their welfare. The government had provided houses, jobs, and financial assistance to the transgenders for the first time, Ms. Jaimala said.
Oscar Fernandes, MP, said that the State government had taken steps to strengthen the panchayati raj system by implementing the recommendations of the Ramesh Kumar committee. Decentralisation need not mean just to give more powers to the institutions but also to the people. It was necessary to give importance to social and economic decentralisation, he said.
M. Veerappa Moily, former Chief Minister, said that the Modi government which had earlier criticised schemes under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act had now done a U-turn and was now singing praises. Though there was a massive drop in the prices of crude oil in the global markets, the prices of petrol and diesel in the country had been reduced marginally, he said.
Vinay Kumar Sorake, Urban Development Minister; Gopal Poojary and Pramod Madhwaraj, MLAs; Pratapchandra Shetty, MLC; and Veronica Cornelio, president of the district Mahila Congress, were present.
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