Guarantee will stay, says CM Siddaramaiah after his advisor asks voters to choose between freebies & roads

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday clarified that there were no plans to stop the welfare guarantee programmes after his economic advisor Basavaraj Rayareddi’s comments on the subject went viral.

There is no question of ending or modifying any guarantee programmes. They are designed for the poor people across communities. They are meant to empower them, the CM told the media in Bengaluru.

Yelburga MLA and CM’s economic advisor Rayareddi had, on Saturday, told voters in his constituency that the government could consider their request for better roads only if they agree to give up welfare guarantee schemes. He would then suggest the CM to spend the money thus saved on roads.

Picking on Rayareddi’s remarks, the Opposition BJP said the statement indicated the government had gone bankrupt. The Congress leader’s comments, the BJP said, echo similar ones by Congress MLAs NY Gopalakrishna, G Parameshwara, and Raju Kage. The CM had money to spend for appeasement politics, the BJP said, referring to the minority schemes, but not for development works.This is not the first time Rayareddi’s comments have caused a flutter. In April this year, he made headlines by saying Karnataka topped among the states in corruption, supplying fodder for the Opposition parties to attack the government.