5 guarantee schemes model for empowering poor, Cong will return to power in 2028: Sidda

Mangaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said the Congress government’s five guarantee schemes had emerged as a model for empowering the poor, women, the unemployed and other economically weaker sections, expressing confidence that the party would return to power in the state in 2028.

Speaking after inaugurating a Kambala event at Muduru–Paduru in Bantwal taluk of Dakshina Kannada district on late night on Saturday, Siddaramaiah said the guarantees introduced by the Congress government in 2023 were aimed at strengthening social and economic justice in the state.

“The five guarantees were brought in with a clear objective — to empower the underprivileged and marginalised sections of society.

These schemes have become a model for ensuring social and economic empowerment,” he said.

The Chief Minister said democracy should go beyond the political sphere and ensure meaningful social and economic participation for all sections of society. “A democracy that is only politically vibrant has little meaning unless it is also socially and economically vibrant,” he said, adding that the Karnataka government was committed to this vision.

Siddaramaiah also praised senior Congress leader and former minister B. Ramanath Rai, who organised the Kambala event, describing him as one of the most sincere and honest leaders in public life.

He said Rai had implemented developmental works worth around Rs 5,000 crore in the Bantwal constituency during his tenure as MLA and later as a minister.

“Despite such work, he did not win the election. I hope the people of Bantwal will ensure his victory when he contests again in 2028,” the Chief Minister said.

He also lauded the people of coastal Karnataka for preserving traditional cultural practices and organising Kambala races, calling the slush-track buffalo race one of the most popular folk sports of the region and an important cultural symbol of the coastal belt.