Mangaluru, Apr 24: Chief minister Siddaramaiah on Friday laid the foundation stone for the new Congress Bhavan at Mallikatte in the heart of the city, in the presence of Dakshina Kannada district in-charge minister B Ramanath Rai, urban development minister Vinay Kumar Sorake, health minister U T Khader and other Congress leaders.
Speaking at a stage programme at Kadri after laying the foundation stone, he said that presidents of all district committees of the party had been issued a directive to set up Congress bhavans in all district headquarters in the state, by acquiring land necessary from the government, development authorities or the city corporation. In Dakshina Kannada, the KPCC will provide some funds necessary to help with the construction of the structure, he said, directing the district minister to ensure the completion of the building in 7-8 months.
Dismissing criticism over the recently-presented state budget, the CM announced that he would provide BPL families with 30 kgs of rice free of cost each month under the Anna Bhagya scheme, which was previously given to the beneficiaries for Re 1. In future, rice will be also given to APL card holders at subsidised rates, he said.
Speaking about the upcoming gram panchayat elections in the state, Mr Siddaramaiah said that all party members and leaders should put their best efforts to ensure the victory of Congress candidates in all 6,000 gram panchayats in Karnataka.
‘Will contest next elections’
Criticising the promises made by BJP in the Lok Sabha elections, he said that there had been no progress in Karnataka when the BJP government was in power. "Having assured to bring back black money from Swiss accounts before elections, not a word is uttered about black money now when the BJP is in power at the Centre. I have not seen any person uttering as many lies as BJP ministers," he said.
"Although I had not planned to contest in the state in the next elections, I have decided to contest and win in the next Assembly elections to contest the BJP's claim of transforming Karnataka into a Congress-free state," said the CM.
Speaking on the occasion, veteran Congress leader B Janardhan Poojary made a request to the CM to sanction a sum of Rs 15 crore to the famous religious shrine at Ullal Dargah Sharif to develop it as a tourist hub.
Ramanath Rai made the introductory remarks on the occasion, while Congress leader Ibrahim Kodichal welcomed the gathering.
Fisheries minister Abhayachandra Jain, MLAs J R Lobo, B A Mohiuddin Bava and Shakunthala Shetty, Ivan D'Souza and several other Congress leaders were present on the occasion.
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