New CM's bonanza for poor

• Rs.1,225-crore loan waiver for the weaker sections
• Subsidised rice scheme from June 1
• Cabinet formation by Friday

Bangalore (Agencies): Siddaramaiah, who took over as Karnataka new Chief Minister, doled out a huge bonanza for the poor.A He has waived cumulative loans and interest arrears to the tune of Rs.1,225 crore owed by 10.3 lakh beneficiaries of the weaker sections of society. Of the total beneficiaries, 1.87 lakh belong to Schedule Castes (SC), 4,078 to Schedule Tribes (ST), 4.98 lakh to OBCs (Other Backward Classes) and three lakh to minorities. Siddaramaiah has announced that 30 kg of rice per month will be sold at Re 1 per kg for BPL (below poverty line) families across Karnataka from June 1. "The subsidised rice scheme will benefit 9.82 million (98 lakh) BPL families living in rural and urban areas and will cost the exchequer Rs.460 crore (Rs.4.6 billion)," Siddaramaiah told reporters at Vidhana Soudha soon after assuming office.

Siddaramaiah later said Ministers would be inducted into his Cabinet by Friday even as he acknowledged that it's a difficult exercise. Addressing a press conference after the maiden Cabinet meeting, minutes after he was sworn in Chief Minister, he said he would be leaving for New Delhi on Tuesday or the day after to hold discussions with Congress president Sonia Gandhi in this regard. It's being discussed whether it should have a two-tier (Cabinet Ministers and Ministers of State) and also if they should be sworn in two instalments (or at one go), he said. "It will be a balanced Cabinet", said Siddaramaiah, noting that ministry-formation was always a difficult exercise, apparently referring to lobbying and more number of aspirants than can be accommodated. The Ministry would be formed by Thursday or Friday, the Chief Minister said. Amongst the leaders present on the occasion were central ministers from the state Mallikarjun Kharge, M Veerappa Moily, K H Muniyappa and K Rahman Khan and Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan. The national party won a comfortable majority, bagging 121 of the 223 Assembly constituencies for which polling was held on May 5. A In the new Assembly, the BJP and JD-S have 40 seats each as against 110 and 28 in the previous House.

Man dies during swearing-in Bangalore (PTI): A 50 year-old Congress supporter died after attending the swearing-in ceremony of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah at the jam packed Kanteerava stadium here on Monday, police said. The deceased was identified as Manjappa, a city resident, who collapsed near gate number seven while coming out after the function attended by nearly 50,000 Congress supporters from across the state. He was given water to drink, after which he complained of chest pain and was immediately rushed to a private hospital just opposite the stadium where he was declared brought dead. "It could have been a massive heart attack but the actual cause of death will be ascertained only after the post-mortem is conducted", police said.