Nation’s progress impossible without village development: CM

Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said India cannot progress unless its villages progress, asserting that the Congress Party has historically championed reservation for women, Dalits, and backward communities, while the BJP had opposed it.

Speaking after distributing the 2023–24 Gandhi Gram Awards and launching the e-Swathu 2.0 software, the Chief Minister recalled that 50% reservation for women in local bodies was introduced due to the vision of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and the Congress Party.

He noted that BJP leader and former Rajya Sabha member Ram Jethmalani Ramajois had opposed these amendments. “People must understand this history before applauding the BJP. They opposed reservations that empowered women and marginalized communities,” he said.

Siddaramaiah stressed that Gandhi, Nehru and Lohia had envisioned democratic decentralisation where power flows from the grassroots upward. “We are a nation of villages. Without the development of rural India, national development is impossible,” he said.

He added that before the constitutional amendments to the 73rd and 74th provisions, there was no reservation for women or backward classes in local self-governance. “Rajiv Gandhi changed this forever. The BJP even went to the Supreme Court to stop it, but the Court upheld reservations,” he said.

The Chief Minister criticised the Union Government for withholding dues under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM). “Though the scheme carries the Prime Minister’s name, the financial burden falls largely on states. Karnataka is still owed Rs 13,000 crore. Farmers and the people of the state must question this injustice,” he said.

He also accused Union Minister Pralhad Joshi of failing Karnataka’s sugarcane farmers.

“Despite central apathy, the state government intervened and provided relief to farmers,” he said.

Siddaramaiah said the upgraded e-Swathu software has already resulted in an estimated Rs 1,778 crore increase in tax revenue. “With proper implementation, income is expected to cross Rs 2,000 crore,” he said.

Highlighting the government’s achievements, he said, “We launched 8,860 km of development roads in Kalyana Karnataka. Instead of recognising such work, the BJP plans to move a no-confidence motion against a people-oriented government. This is laughable.”

He said the Congress government’s guarantee schemes are meant to secure the lives of the poor across all castes and religions. “The BJP’s drum-beating gang has delivered no such programmes, yet keeps trying to mislead people,” he remarked.

Reflecting on his political journey, Siddaramaiah said he too had risen through the grassroots. “I began as a taluk board member and reached the Chief Minister’s office. Strengthening Panchayats and local bodies is my goal,” he said, expressing confidence that Karnataka’s rural development will accelerate under the leadership of Minister Priyank Kharge.