'Modi, apologise for false claim on Gruha Lakshmi'

The CM was referring to the ad taken out by Maharashtra BJP in newspapers

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi apologise for “false claims” about the Gruha Lakshmi guarantee scheme. He made the comments on Thursday while campaigning for Congress Sandur candidate Annapoorna in the upcoming by-poll on November 13. The Gruha Lakshmi scheme refers to the scheme wherein a woman 'head of household' can claim an allowance of Rs 2,000 as long as her husband is not a direct tax payer.

The CM was referring to the advertisement taken out by Maharashtra BJP in newspapers which claimed that Congress had “cheated women” by not properly implementing the allowance schemes for women in Karnataka, Telangana and Himachal Pradesh. The advertisement claimed “Vaada Kiya, Dhoka Diya” (Made promises, but cheated). However, Siddaramaiah, who doesn’t speak much Hindi retorted with “Vaada Diya, Poora Kiya” (Made promises, fulfilled them), much to the amusement of the crowd in Sandur. Congress MP from Ballari E Tukaram was also present on the stage.

The CM alleged that the advertisement was inspired by PM Modi’s claims about the guarantee schemes. He pointed out that the allowances under the Gruha Lakshmi had been continuing. “Under the Gruha Lakshmi scheme, 1.22 crore housewives have been given Rs 2,000 (each) since August 2023. A total of Rs 30,285 crore has been transferred in this manner. You may ask these 1.22 crore women to clear your doubts,” Siddaramaiah said. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi, I demand that you apologise so that the truth can be put forth before the people,'' he said.