AN SMD INITIATIVE
CHANGEMAKER Siddaramaiah’s rise from the by-lanes of Siddaramanahundi village near Mysuru to the corridors of power is a story worth telling. He could have chosen to become a teacher, given his habit of reading, or he could have become a wrestler, given his passion for the sport, but his ambition was to bring holistic change at a broad level. He chose politics because he realised that being a policy changemaker
can have lasting effect on the lives of the downtrodden while transforming the economic landscape of the entire state. Having struggled to work on his own development, and then setting the agenda for the development of the state, Siddaramaiah has set an almost irresistible example for many. In doing so, he has raised the bar on leadership qualities; lifting Karnataka’s vision to higher
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standards and building a universal personality that is beyond normal limitations. This coffee table book, ‘Siddaramaiah - The Man, The Mission’, is an effort to chronicle his life as a person, a politician and as the Chief Minister of the state. It is an effort to capture his many successes and bring to fore his foresight that has immensely remodelled Karnataka’s future for the better.
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CONTENTS Firm & Formidable Chief Minister Siddaramaiah remains a man taking to politics for a purpose, an objective totally sans any grandiose designs for himself.
6 Journey & The Job
Life & Longing
Having successfully completed four years of his tenure as the chief minister, Siddaramaiah can keep his head held high for all the initiatives he has undertaken towards uplifting the lives of the needy
Siddaramaiah had humble beginnings but from his childhood, he kept his aspirations high, and moved with the tide, some times against it, and won
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It is my desire that the impact of development should reflect in the lives of people. I believe that this is the true measure of achievement of our Government. We always have an open mind to public opinion. “Janamana� programme with beneficiaries of the schemes is a testimony for this. By respecting the public opinion expressed there, we have made our schemes more useful for the people by modifying them
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Firm & Formidable
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olitical stability in Karnataka has not been known to be synonymous with stability of chief ministerial tenures. On May 13, 2013 when Siddaramaiah took over the reins of the State as the 22nd Chief Minister, he was being ushered into the office in a swearing-in ceremony being held for the 31st time. And it was the 14th Legislative Assembly of the State. He had emerged as the choice of majority of the Congress Legislature Party after a secret ballot. Prior to him, the State had seen five chief ministers walking out in a procession during nine years (2004-13). Politically turbulent times in which Siddaramaiah won the tough battle to reach the top position did not carry the assurance of his survival till the end of the term. But now that major part of his current term is behind him and the State is heading for the election of the 15th Legislative Assembly, there are fewer people willing to risk a bet on his ambition to remain in the hot seat for a second term. Having never seen him conceding defeat, one can unhesitatingly claim
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that Siddaramaiah led the State from the front all through his tenure in all meanings of the word and at all levels, be it party, Government or the public discourse. Unwavering in his resolve to keep the axis of the politics leaning towards the have-nots and the underprivileged, he had his priorities neatly cut out from the inception. He was here to see the realization of doing the maximum to mitigate the sufferings of the poor, the downtrodden and the underprivileged, a goal he had doggedly pursued ever since his student days. The Chief Minister shows no flagging of the zeal with which he entered the State politics in 1980. Every crisis has seen his nerves gathering more steel, his vision attaining greater depth and his persona more determination, grit and courage. Ambition is the basic fuel for an individual’s progress. Siddaramaiah cannot be faulted on this count. He minces no words when it comes to admitting that he is politically ambitious. Having sought a mandate for the party with himself fighting ‘the last election of his life’, he is eyeing another term and has no qualms in confessing that
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he is going back on his word. Emerging bolder from his first term, he finds it quite legitimate to attempt a second term. But what is surprising is that nothing of this dilutes his rusticity and his humble disposition. He remains what he was, a man taking to politics for a purpose, an objective totally sans any grandiose designs for himself. How things will work out for him as the State approaches the Election is difficult to tell. But what is clear is that the man at the helm has weathered the term skillfully, showing no infirmity at any stage and allowing his detractors no scope for any advantage. He remains adept at deflecting all criticism of him just as the ducks would shrug the water off their backs. He remains firm and formidable and barring a jerk here and there, holds the ground solidly. A sharp eye on the AHINDA axis of his ideology has ensured that occasional wobbling would not disturb the equilibrium. Sagging fortunes of the Indian National Congress across the nation, have not affected him a bit. Rather the element of audacity is difficult to miss in his demeanour.
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(Above) 2010 - Siddaramaiah with then Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa and JDLP Leader H D Revanna at Vidhana Soudha (Below) 2008 - With S M Krishna (Bottom) 2010 - With H D Deve Gowda
(Top) 2013 - Then Governor Hansraj Bhardwaj administering oath of the office to the new Chief Minister Siddaramaiah at Kanteerava Stadium | (Centre) 2013 - Taking a seat after the oath | 2013 - Siddaramaiah arriving at a press conference after taking oath | (Above, Left) 2013 - Greeting his supporters | (Above, Right) 2012 - Opposition Congress leader Siddaramaiah in the Karnataka assembly exhibiting the copy of the final verdict of the 16-legislators disqualification case by the Supreme Court
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Change & Challenge
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ver since his entry into political arena in 1980, one has seen only a rise and rise of Siddaramaiah on the political horizon of Karnataka. Pensive pauses were of course there after hitting a few dead ends. The rumours of a sanyas from politics also did the rounds. But hindsight reveals that they were in the nature of introspective interregnums urged by the constricted political space for certain ideologies that had met obsolescence in the new era of globalisation. It did not take much for him to bounce back into the reckoning after a few political observers had written his political epitaph. And he did it with aplomb and vengeance, though not in style characteristic of certain of his predecessors. Scrupulously eschewing the ego-boosting extravaganzas and bombast, he remains glued to the ideals of walking the arduous road to political power with deep conviction in his beliefs. Almost five years into the office, Siddaramaiah’s zeal to bring about change and forge unity among the have-not social categories remains undimmed. Rooted
in the soil and groomed by worthies such as crusader for the farmers’ rights Nanjundaswamy and former Chief Minister and socialist Ramakrishna Hegde, his sight has remained riveted at the woe and weal of the underfed and the unwashed multitudes in the State. He continues to drink from the fountains of inspiration of likes of Dr. Babasaheb Bheem Rao Ambedkar, Ram Manohar Lohia, Mahatma Jyotibha Phule and Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen. A voracious reader himself, the Chief Minister is known for casting his net wide for ideas that could ensure both welfare and stimulate development. He has his hands on the pulse of the people in the State, especially those who find in him a messiah and hinge their expectations on him. Never shying away from borrowing ideas from others, he looks for an opportune moment to float, hoist or launch them. Never stymied by conventions or legacies, he can sniff and tell what he needs. He goes for wider consultation and can glean and tease out all that is practicable. A man known for being forthright in interpersonal
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communication, he artfully deploys political correctness when dealing with rivals and negotiating through the maze of issues, often leaving the opponents disarmed. A good many veterans have been pushed on the back foot while others are just licking their wounds following an engagement with him. As of now he seems to be in the driver’s seat as far as the ongoing political discourse in the State is concerned. He was fortunate to have a supportive party backyard which barring some ruffled feathers here and a few bruised egos there, has stood him through thick and thin. Partly, this may be stemming from demoralized state of the Congress everywhere. How the future would shape the course of events for him remains to be seen. But there is no gainsaying that he brought back political and economic stability to the State and has left a stamp of his persona on the public discourse with great amount of sobriety and equanimity without diluting the focus on populist welfarism that has remained central to the political administration in the South Indian states.
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2016 - Siddaramaiah with Nirmalanandanatha Swamiji, head of Adichunchanagiri Math
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2015 - Siddaramaiah performing Yoga during the International Yoga Day at Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru
Ramarajya is a concept representing hungerfree, exploitation-free, overall development with deep-rooted harmony. Be it inspiration behind the Constitution drafted by Ambedkar, life of Gandhiji saying ‘my life is my message’ or anna Basavanna’s ideals, all say the same. Therefore, it is my belief that, Ramarajya cannot be built by those who oppose the concept of social justice.
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Life & Longing
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banner of revolt leading to a split in the state party organisation, leaving the rump of the term to be carried to the end by two of his successors, namely Sadananda Gowda and Jagadeesh Shettar. Newcomers were welcome within the Congress, but were scrupulously kept away from the throne.
scent to the top for Siddaramaiah has not been easy. It has been an arduous journey, which had left him at the political crossroads many a time. On occasions when he imagined himself to be at a striking distance from the goal, the road ahead had developed enough potholes for a person of his convictions rendering it into an obstacle race.
And Siddaramaiah would not settle for anything less. After all he had been deputy chief minister twice earlier.
But for himself, a rationalist, many would attribute Siddaramaiah’s rise in Karnataka to a fortuitous configuration of stars. Luckily for him, the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party had ended its five-year term on a sour nay sordid note with its first chief minister in the State,
He led the party at the hustings in 2013 and came up trumps. Congress was tasting power again after being out of it for nine long years in a state, where it was deeply entrenched once upon a time.
B. S. Yeddyurappa himself raising the
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2014 - Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, then Union Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda, former Chief minister Jagadish Shettar, and K S Eshwarappa at Rajbhavan
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HUMBLE ORIGIN
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(Left) At Siddaramanahundi (Top) Siddaramaiah shares a lighter moment with his college classmate Advocate MS Krishna Iyengar during Sarada Vilas College’s Diamond Jubilee programme in Mysuru
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ustic and rough-hewn, Siddaramaiah could legitimately claim to be a self-made man. Born on August 12, 1948 to Siddramegowda and Boramma in Siddaramanahundi village of Varuna taluka in the outskirts of princely city of Mysore (rechristened Mysuru in recent years), Siddaramaiah was fourth among the six children sired by the couple of a large Kuruba family. The village is known for its Siddrameshwar temple and has around 800 houses. The roads are now metalled and villagers give credit to Siddaramaiah for the branch of Kaveri Grameena Bank which has a branch in the village. The walls of his tiled ancestral house bear several of his pictures from his student days to his entry into politics. Two brothers and a sister (Chikkamma who passed away on October 7, 2017 at the age of 90) were elder to him while another sister and brother were younger to him. Of the six, only two survive today. It was a middle class family of farmers with around 40 acres of land holdings which have now been divided among the siblings. The house still bears his nameplate. But most of his siblings have built new houses and moved out. Family members in the village recall Siddaramaiah as an intelligent boy who was hardworking as well. Siddaramaiah attended the high school in Kuppegala village. After school hours, he tended herds of goats, sheep and cattle. The first school in Siddramanahundi opened during the chief ministerial tenure of Kengal Hanumanthaiah (1952-1956).
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Siddaramaiah climbs on top of a police van to wave at party workers on his arrival
Siddaramaiah with Deve Gowda
Siddaramaiah addressing the public
With Margaret Alva and Roshan Baig
Siddaramaiah, who held the finance portfolio, presenting the last budget of the Janata Dal Government. Then Chief Minister JH Patel is also seen
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Siddaramaiah and Basavaraj Patil Attur at the Chief Minister’s home office ‘Krishna’
ROOTS IN THE SOIL
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is childhood friend Srinivasachar, a carpenter, who lives in the village to this day, recalls Siddaramaiah as a good kabaddi and volleyball player. He would even participate in kho-kho and wrestling and go to Mysore to watch wrestling matches which were then a popular sport. Cricket had not made its appearance on the rural scene till they passed out of their high school. They often went to the nearby river for a swim. Books were rare to be obtained. Siddaramaiah often used mud and sand on the riverbank to etch out figures and solve mathematical sums. He even attended dance classes conducted by one Nanjungowda at nearby Eeraka village. He could identify each and every tree and had a keen knowledge of farming and rearing of cattle and had even begun to perceive issues afflicting the farmers and tillers from his student days. Srinivasachar, who is now 69, says Siddaramaiah began to take interest in popular issues and participate in political struggle during his college days. His political career began in 1970 with his election as a member of the Taluka Board while he practised as a lawyer in Mysuru. India CafĂŠ on Sayyajirao Road, the main shopping throughfare of Mysore leading to the famed Mysore Palace, was his favourite haunt where he and his friends would gather around 9.30 am and would have their breakfast. He is remembered as a liberal spender whenever he would have money. Some sections accuse him of having caste prejudices against the uppercastes. But his close associates deny having seen any such trait in him and view such allegations as deliberate misinterpretation of his pro-poor bias which results in affirmative action in terms of policies for weaker sections who mainly belong to people in lower hierarchy of caste.
Siddaramaiah during his younger days
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BORN SOCIALIST
Left: A view of Sarada Vilas College where Siddaramaiah pursued LLB Top: Yuvaraja College, Mysuru
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ne of his closest friends who had a role in his ideological mentoring describes Siddaramaiah as a born socialist keenly aware of the difficulties of the poor and the dispossessed. They swear by his non-partisan nature when asked if their former associate has any distinct prejudices against uppercastes. Some even see a deliberate design in his championing the cause of Kannada. But Pa. Mallesh, a long term associate pooh-poohs such charges as emanating from quarters that intend to malign him. They say insistence on use of Kannada was a matter of conviction for him as he felt that primacy to Kannada was borne out of his innate desire to bridge the communication gap between the common men and women and the administration and to take the literacy and education to the grassroots and enabling the common man’s access to
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the higher echelons of administration. Mallesh, who now runs Nrupathunga Kannada Shale, a Kannada medium high school in Ramakrishna Nagar in Mysore, is setting up the State’s first Kannada medium Pre-University College. Siddaramaiah visited the school a couple of years ago and sanctioned Rs. 2 crore for the institution which is taking up the unique initiative. Siddaramaiah began his schooling from 4th standard joining the Vidyavardhaka School at the age of ten. He went on to attain a B.Sc. degree from the Yuvaraja’s College in Mysuru and added a degree in Law from Sharda Vilas College, Mysuru still later. Though he joined the legal profession as an advocate in Mysore court, he had envisioned his future in politics. For some time he even taught at the Vidyavardhaka Law College as a part time teacher.
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The policy goal of the government, “Every child in school and learning well�, guides our efforts to focus on improving education quality, inclusiveness and affordability. For achieving these objectives, programmes for education quality improvement and assurance, technology assisted learning, incentives to students and students motivation are being implemented in government schools.
2011 - Siddaramaiah issuing cycles to K R Mills Government School Children in Mysuru
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EYEING POLITICAL CAREER
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ccording to an advocate friend of Siddaramaiah, he was a voracious reader and would devote five to six hours each evening to reading lives and works of great men and women of history. “He read works and biographies of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Dr. Ambedkar, Vallab Bhai Patel, Jayaprakash Narain, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia and former Karnataka Chief Minister Devaraj Urs whom he appreciated a lot for bold reforms— agrarian as well as social—in the State”. A colleague who continues to be a confidante and an advisor to the Chief Minister, says, “Siddaramaiah would often tell me, ‘One need not be a great economist to fashion a budget but should have a keen sense of people’s needs, wants and aspirations’.” Yet another friend remembers him having borrowed the Amartya Sen’s book titled The Idea of Justice. He was groomed by socialist and peasant movement leader, Prof. Nanjundaswamy, who headed the Karnataka Rajya Ryata Sangha. It was he who advised him to join politics and take up the causes of the underprivileged. An old political associate from Mysore informs that Siddaramaiah was a keen follower of sports and regularly reads sports magazines. “However, of late, he hardly gets time to read anything worthwhile,” he comments.
Top: 2015 - Siddaramaiah paying floral tributes to farmer leader Prof M D Nanjundaswamy at Amruta Bhoomi during his visit to Chamarajanagar
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IDEOLOGICAL TRAINING
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iddaramaiah was a member of the Samajwadi Yuvajana Samiti, the youth forum of the Socialist Parties in the 1970s which followed the ideals of Jayaprakash Narayan and stood for ‘Total Revolution’. He would participate in the ideological training camps organised by followers of Ram Manohar Lohia in Mysore. As for Devaraj Urs, whom he looks up to as his icon for inspiration, Siddaramaiah never had the chance to be with him as Urs was a Congressman and Siddaramaiah was then active with Socialist camp, which was represented by two parties i.e., Samajwadi Socialist Party and Praja Socialist Party. Siddaramaiah jumped into the electoral arena in 1983 on a Bhartiya Loka Dal ticket from Chamundeshwari constituency in Mysore city. The victory surprised many. Though short of majority, the Janata Party had emerged as the largest party and could form the Government in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Chief Minister Ramakrishna Hegde appointed him the chairman of the Kannada Kavulu Samithi (Kannada Implementation Committee) thereby keeping him on his side. He retained the seat in 1985 on the Janata Party ticket and was appointed the Minister for Animal Husbandry in Hegde’s cabinet. In 1989, he was defeated at the hands of the Congress veteran Rajashekhar Murthy. He won the third time from Chamundeshwari in 1994 and was appointed Deputy Chief Minister with Finance portfolio in 1996 in Chief Minister J. H. Patel’s cabinet who had succeeded Deve Gowda on his being appointed the Prime Minister of India. He held the position till 1999. He was defeated yet again in 1999 but won the seat again in 2004. Thereafter, he shifted to his home constituency Varuna and won the by-election in 2006 after having quit the Assembly following expulsion from the JDS. He won the seat again in 2008 and 2013. His toughest fight was in 2006 by-election against Janata Dal-Secular’s Shivabasappa when he could virtually snatch the victory from the jaws of defeat by a margin of 250 votes. Both Yeddyurappa and H. D. Kumaraswamy had campaigned against him.
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Top: 2015 - The Chief Minister paying floral tribute to the portrait of former Chief Minister Devaraj Urs on his death anniversary at Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru Right: 2008 - Siddaramaiah, Congress candidate from Varuna, emerging from the counting centre after he was declared winner, in Mysuru
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NO FLATTERY Left: Siddaramaiah and Minister for Bengaluru Development and Town Planning, K J George arriving for the Cabinet meeting at Vidhana Soudha
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riends and companions opine that Siddaramaiah dislikes flattery and is straightforward in his dealings. He prefers to keep both flatterers and worshipful acolytes at arm’s length. He does not expect returns for favours done, not even gestures of gratitude. An advocate friend of his, who was appointed the Advocate General of the State during the late 1980s, has an instance to relate. It was the time when Ramakrishna Hegde headed the Janata Party Government in the State and Lakshmi Sagar was the Law
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Minister. Expecting that this favour must have followed Siddaramaiah’s recommendation, he rang him up to thank for ‘the gesture’. But he was surprised to know from Siddaramaiah that he was not the right man to be thanked, as he had recommended someone else’s name. As is the wont of politician, anyone in this situation would have pounced upon the opportunity to grab the credit for a favour he had not done and the recipient was not likely to know the real benefactor.
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For the all-round development of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities, a historical law, The Karnataka Scheduled Caste Sub-plan and Tribal Sub-plan Act, 2013 has been implemented. Funds are reserved in proportion to the population at 17.15% and 6.95% for these communities. During 2008-09 to 2012-13, Rs.26,840 crore was provided and Rs.22,261 crore was spent under Scheduled Caste Sub-plan and Tribal Sub-plan. During the period from 2013-14 to 2016-17, Rs.60,350 crore has been provided and Rs.47,186 crore has been spent under this plan.
2009 - Members of Karnataka Dalit Sangharsha Samiti take a rally in Bengaluru demanding Single Window system for development of Dalits
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LOYAL TO THE PARTY
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riends and close confidants testify that Siddaramaiah is a scrupulously loyal partyman regardless of parties he had been with. A former colleague from JDS says while pursuing AHINDA philosophy, he had once sought permission of the party president H. D. Devegowda for organising the AHINDA conference in Bengaluru. A friend of his in Delhi had already secured the consent of former Prime Minister V. P. Singh to be the chief guest at the conference proposed to be
held in Bengaluru. Following Devegowda’s refusal of permission, Siddaramaiah put off the proposal and refused to toe an independent line. Even within the Congress, he has stood for certain high ideals. Sycophancy has been alien to his style of functioning. A self-respecting individual, he joined the Congress on his own terms and shunned lobbying with quarters close to the High Command. He had always been guarded in his praise of the superiors.
Top: 2014 - Siddaramiah and minister H K Patil taking an oath during Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s birth anniversary at KPCC office Right: 2015 - Siddaramaiah and G Parameshwara receiving congress leader Rahul Gandi at the airport
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TURNING POINT
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teel got into his nerves around 2010 when he launched the Padayatra (march on feet) in August 2010 to take upon the might of the mineowning Reddy brothers in protest against ‘Operation Lotus’. The ‘Operation Lotus’ was being conducted to buy support for the minority Government of Yeddyurappa (which had won 108 seats in the 224-member Assembly in 2008 elections). The 320-km Padayatra aimed to highlight the ‘illegal mining and corruption by Reddy
brothers’, culminated in a massive rally in Bellary on August 9, 2010. It is stated to be the beginning of countdown of the beleaguered Yeddyurappa Government in the State. The storming of the bastion of the Reddys, what had come to be called ‘the Bellary Republic’, was a mammoth show. It for the first time pitch-forked Siddaramaiah as the potential chief ministerial material for a party whose morale had almost touched the nadir in the State.
Left: 2010 - Opposition leader Siddaramaiah and then KPCC working president D K Shivakumar during the Congress padayatra at Dobbaspet | Top: 2010 - Siddaramaiah leads the Congress Padayatra at Gollahalli in Chitradurga district
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HONEST TO THE CORE
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iddaramaiah excelled as a Finance Minister, not due to the bevy of doling schemes he could initiate, but merely by being honest. He had called upon the traders to be straightforward and honest in declaration of commercial taxes and made it plain to them that intermediaries bargaining for backdoor concession against bribes will not be entertained. An advocate friend of the Chief Minister, who has known and worked with him for over four decades, confirms that tax lawyers now complain that they get fewer clients as Chief Minister had laid an accommodative tax regime and does not entertain any bribe-givers or their intermediaries and strives to see that traders are not harassed.
Top: 2017 - Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Siddaramaiah at ‘Make in India’ Conference in Bengaluru
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FRANK AND FORTHRIGHT Left: 2015 - Chief Minister Siddaramaiah speaking in the Legislative Council in Belagavi Top: 2017 - Siddaramaiah waits for delegates to join him on the dais for the inauguration of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas
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ever to keep people waiting, the Chief Minister is forthright in telling individuals if he would be able to oblige them in matters requested by them. It is unusual of a politician where deviousness and dirty games are normal to seek political advantage. An officer in the Chief Minister’s office informs that journalist Gauri Lankesh had come visiting him some two months before she was shot and killed at her residence by unidentified killers on September 5, 2017. She had proposed name of an acquaintance for some position and wanted the Chief Minister’s ear for the purpose. Siddaramaiah flatly refused the request citing other compulsions in the matter. The officer says, politicians lose risking friendships while employing such candour and forthrightness. But Siddaramaiah remains untrammeled. “This”, the officer says, “lightens his conscience and work pressure.”
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NO STOMACH FOR SUPERSTITIONS
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hose who know him from close quarters see him as a man who visits temples (and for that matter any other place of worship) and believes in spirituality, yet eschews the superstitions and disapproves important decisions, be it in life of an individual or public affairs, being tagged with them. In one of the election campaigns, he was visiting the Chamundeshwari Temple atop the Chamundi Hills in Mysuru. It so happened that a temple bell fell on him, slightly hurting him. The accompanying newsmen asked him if he would take it as a bad omen. He described it as an accident and destined for the moment and that he did not take it as a jinx. He won the election hands down. Even the jinx attributed to Chamrajanagar did not deter him from visiting the town and the district within six months after he was sworn into the office of Chief Minister of the State. He visited the place on October 7, 2013 and saw no reason and rationale to cancel the visit. In the past, most Chief Ministers had either avoided visiting the place or even if they visited, it was only towards the end of their term. It is uncertain as to what is at the root of this belief about Chamarajanagar. The political genesis of the jinx theory could be traced to the times of legendary chief minister D. Devaraj Urs who lost power in 1980 within six months of his visit to Chamarajanagar. Thereafter a series of coincidences that followed kept the town under focus for wrong reasons. Same fate befell his successor R. Gundu Rao in 1982. Adverse political developments forced Ramakrishna Hegde and S.R. Bommai to relinquish their post after having visited the place in 1988 and 1989, respectively. The Congress Party eased out Veerendra Patil within six months after he visited Chamarajanagar in 1991. Scared, none among the three BJP chief ministers i.e., Yeddyurappa, Sadananda Gowda and Jagadish Shettar visited the place. But not Siddaramaiah, the man for whom combating the superstitions is a matter of conviction.
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Bengaluru accounts for the lion’s share of Karnataka’s commercial production. Keeping the same in mind, several developmental projects essential for Bengaluru will be taken up. During last year, Rs.7300 crore has been made available for development of infrastructure of Bengaluru city and welfare of Bengaluru’s citizens. The said grant, being spread over 2016-17 and 2017-18, the action plan of the works has been approved and these works are at different stages of implementation. The entire amount will be spent by March 2018.
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Journey & The Job S
Top: 2011 - Opposition leader Siddaramaiah dances during Sri Siddarameshwara Jathra at Siddaramanahundi near Mysuru Right: 2010 - Opposition leader Siddaramaiah dancing during the second day of Congress padayatra at Nelamangala near Bengaluru
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iddaramaiah had won the office the hard way. A new entrant into the Congress in 2006, he was aware of the culture of the party which demanded a sufficiently long apprenticeship before expecting an anointment at the top. Proximity to the High Command held the key. Yet he could convince the central dispensation of his antecedents as a grassroots politician with immense clout of his own. This was however not the first time he was doing it. In 1996, even as the baton of the Janata Dal rule in the State was being passed over to J. H. Patel from H. D. Deve Gowda, Siddaramaiah had brought in huge crowds of his supporters to the accompaniment of Kuruba dancers and a few musical bands to the ground between Bengaluru’s Raj Bhavan and the stately Vidhana Soudha to demand the deputy CM’s position for himself. Having been a thoroughbred Janata Dal leader, he had won the day for himself.
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CRESTFALLEN
Left: 2009 - JDS Supremo H D Deve Gowda with Siddaramaiah at former minister M Chandrashekhar’s 80th Birthday celebration at Raveendra Kalakshetra in Bengaluru
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e hit a rough patch in 2005 during his second tenure as the Deputy Chief Minister inviting expulsion from the Janata Dal following his differences with JD supremo Deve Gowda. Political observers attribute this to Deve Gowda’s attempt to replace him with his son H. D. Kumaraswamy in which he succeeded. A bit crestfallen, he had thought of renouncing politics altogether. He was a rudderless ship being tossed about in the rough sea of time. For some months he busied himself in crafting a new political party, namely Akhila Bharatha Praja Janata Dal (ABP-JD) but later gave up the effort, as no regional political outfit in the State had met with success earlier. Nor he was endowed with required resources for the venture. The ABP-JD remained merely an outfit for social mobilisation. He was not the one with a malleable conscience who would switch opinions and parties at the shortest notice. Yet, he knew well that rigidity was a flawed quality in the quicksand politics of today and digressions and compromises are a must if one has to stay the course.
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DISPELLING GLOOM
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iddaramaiah turned to Congress where doors were ajar. Parleys went on for months amid feelers from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) too. Finally, he joined the Indian National Congress at a mass rally organised by his supporters. Party President Sonia Gandhi was also present at the rally. For a hard-boiled socialist like him, the BJP carried no appeal due to its communally partisan agenda. Though he led the 2013 Assembly election and won it for the party amid the otherwise gloomy electoral prospects elsewhere, the chief ministerial chair would not come to him without a challenge from another longtime aspirant, the heavyweight Mallikarjuma Kharge, an eight-time MLA, an old guard within the Indian National Congress and the Dalit face of the party in the State. In a secret ballot, Siddaramaiah could manage the numbers from among the new legislators and grabbed the chair. Kharge had the solace of his son being inducted into the cabinet and being offered the position of the Leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party in the 16th Lok Sabha after 2015 election which saw Congress being reduced to merely 47 seats in the lower house of the Parliament. Siddaramaiah started his term with much enthusiasm. But, the
AHINDA (Kannada acronym for an umbrella organisation of Backward Communities, Dalits and the religious minorities) philosophy he had been propounding for years and during the 2013 electioneering did not come to be invoked frequently. However, reflections of this were available in all his Budgets (so far twelve including the ones he presented as Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister under J. H. Patel and Dharam Singh). Then, the sudden death of his elder son Rakesh shook him up. Back from the final rites, he sat up and began to take stock of the State Administration on a day-to-day basis. Chief Minister’s office warmed up and acquired a vibrant look with a set of dynamic officers. They began to look into media reports on a daily basis to get an insight into popular perception. The Chief Minister began to insist on regular reports on delivery of public services and would call for explanations if shortfalls or deficiencies were noticed. Stars were consistently favourable for Siddaramaiah. The Congress High Command was largely supportive and allowed him almost full autonomy in having a cabinet of his own liking. The AICC declared Siddaramaiah to be the choice for leading the Congress campaign for the 2019 Assembly election.
Top: 2013 - Chief Minister- designate Siddaramaiah giving a thums up to the crowd after a meeting at the Congress office in Bengaluru Right: 2010 - Opposition Leader Siddaramaiah, who celebrated his 63rd birthday, being greeted by the public at his residence
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2016 - Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy at Indo-American Chamber of Commerce Conclave- Vision 2020 in Bengaluru
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International Tech Park at Whitefield
Somehow, juvenile and narrow minded impressions have crept into the economic sector that pro-people Government means antidevelopment Government! But, our Government has succeeded in dispelling that myth. I wish to say with humility that the Government that has been identified by the common man as a pro-people Government, the same Government’s administration and policyprogrammes have succeeded in raising Bengaluru to the stature of most dynamic city in the world.
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QUIET ASSERTION
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iddaramaiah has developed his own style of quiet assertion without being confrontational. Of late, he seems to be gaining an edge over the ideological rivals through a slew of independent stands which though do not gel with the Congress line of thinking, do not provoke the ire of party’s central dispensation either. Expediency has dictated the party high command to be discreet. But the moves have certainly caught the leadership of the rivals off guard. For instance, he had had his way over the two-language policy for the Namma Metro, the emerging citywide rail network of the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMCRL). Deleting Hindi signages on Metro stations might be a minor victory for him. Yet its implication goes far beyond in that it neutralizes the Kannada protagonists in his favour.
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Top: 2017 - President Pranab Mukherjee and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah waving the symbolic green flag to inaugurate the last leg of Metro Phase-1 at Vidhana Soudha | Right: 2017 - A train on the Green Line of Namma Metro’s Phase-1 from Sampige Road Metro Station to Yelchenahalli Metro Station before its inauguration in Bengaluru
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2014 - Siddaramaiah and Jnanpith awardee U R Ananthamurthy during the award presention programme at Ravindara Kalakshethra
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DASH OF REGIONALISM
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is stand on Kannada flag too won pro-Kannada organisations and the lobby on his side. However, it was not the first time the State was seen urging a flag of its own, the Kannada flag has been there fluttering on countless buildings across the State since 1965. Karnataka even has a State anthem Jai Bharatha Jananiya Tanujathe! When a Kannada activist and journalist Ramamurthy conceived this bi-colour (two equal stripes, yellow above and red below), it had no official legitimacy. It is widely used on November 1, the Karnataka Formation Day designated as the Kannada Rajyotsava, in official functions. It has semi-official status as it is hoisted in all schools and has gained credibility through Kannada films. Though it was never meant to represent any secessionist ideology, a demand for its recognition is open to be interpreted as incipient separatism. Reactions were varied. Congress High Command called for an explanation while AICC-appointed party observer K. C. Venugopal, a Congress leader from Kerala put in-charge of the party in Karnataka, opposed the move. Party MP Shashi Tharoor however rejected all suggestions that hinted any ulterior motives behind the move. He cited the example of American states having their own flags besides the Federal Stars and Stripes. While the Chief Minister bypassed the controversy by entrusting the issue to a committee, the Agriculture Minister saw no objection in Kannada flag flying two notches below the National Tricolour. What however remains obvious is that the Chief Minister was clearly embarrassing the BJP by drawing it into opposing a move seen to be related to regional pride. And he was also taking care that issues such as the two-language formula and the State flag should not become a liability for the party he represented at the national level. It was his manner of suggesting that those who flaunt hypernationalism should remain wary of opponents upping the ante against them through issues that appeal to subnational instincts. In a way, he was countering the BJP’s communalism with regionalism with electoral dividends in sight.
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2017 - President of India Ram Nath Kovind with Governor and Chief Minister along with Cabinet ministers after presenting a historic address to the Joint session during the Diamond Jubilee celebration of Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru
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Top: 2015 - Siddaramaiah and PWD Minister H C Mahadevappa during the lunch hour in Vidhana Soudha
NON-INTERVENTIONIST
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autonomy in decision-making. Such a policy could of course, have its merits and demerits when it comes to collective responsibility. However, the Siddaramaiah Government has so far remained free from any major blemish on the count of corruption.
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It should not be forgotten that the same Government, which has been acknowledged as pro-social justice, has propelled the State to the first position in the country in terms of investment intention.
2015 - Chief Minister Siddaramaiah releasing the souvenir of Karnataka State Industrial Investment & Development Corporation Limited in Bengaluru
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2016 - Siddaramaiah with Chairman Emeritus, Tata Sons Ratan Tata at Invest Karnataka 2016, a global investors’ meet, at Palace Grounds in Bengaluru
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CORE PHILOSOPHY
Left: 2013 - Siddaramaiah at the inaugural of various developmental schemes in Kolar Top: 2015 - Siddaramaiah addressing public grievances at Suvarna Vidhana Soudha in Belagavi
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he Chief Minister has been consistent with his focus on AHINDA, secularism and rationalism. Generous doles for Backward Communities (BCs), Dalits and the religious minorities had been at the core of all the State Budgets he presented in the Assembly. While the subtle tilt was evident even during his tenure as Finance Minister under other chief ministers, it became explicit after he was ushered into the office of the Chief Minister. This, undoubtedly, led to emphasis on big industry getting diluted. He initiated the trend of making separate allocation for the OBCs in the Budget 2017-18. Similarly, sub-quotas were introduced, initially for Christians and later for Jains in the allocation for the development schemes meant for religious minorities who constitute 16.2 per cent of the State population. Budgetary allocation for the SCs and STs too was raised to 24 per cent, in parity with their population in the State. Furthermore, the Karnataka Scheduled Castes Sub Plan and Scheduled Tribes Sub Plan Act of 2013 (SCP/STP Act) made the allocation non-divertible and non-lapsable. The officialdom was directed to utilise the entire allocated sum, failing which punitive action would follow.
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Top: 2017 - Children during mid-day meals at a school | Right: 2010 - Children being given mid-day meal at a government school
FREEDOM FROM HUNGER
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he mantra that came to occupy the core of his philosophy was: Food for the hungry, health for peaceful living, a roof for living under, education and training for an independent living, occupation for working hands, protection of the helpless and fair compensation for one’s labour.
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CONSOLIDATING THE GRIP Left: 2017 - Farmers perform Boomihunnime pooja Top: 2015 - Siddaramaiah with Minister Umashree distributing talking laptops to blind students in Bengaluru
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n order to further consolidate hold on the SC and ST population, Siddaramaiah’s Government extended the freebies schemes further and announced ‘Laptop Bhagya’ scheme for the students from the two categories pursuing certain professional courses in Government as well as private colleges, free bus passes to SC/ST students, increasing the subsidy to the members of these categories who purchase taxis, tractor and construct houses and distribution of free seeds. The students were also sanctioned substantial monetary assistance for overseas education. The Social Welfare and Agriculture Departments were asked to select 1,000 SC and ST farmers to be taken on foreign visits.
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There is a section of people amongst us, which believes that providing infrastructure itself is development. This is only a partial truth. Whatever it is, the section which believes so should also not have much reservations about the performance of our Government. During the tenure of our Government, schemes for development of infrastructure in the State and Bengaluru are not merely on paper but are before the people. Be it Bengaluru Metro, State Road Transport Corporation, which is getting award after award, upgraded State Highways across the State, which has raised eyebrows of many, Industrial Parks, which have come up all over the State, nobody can easily deny that these are the face of development.
2017 - Siddaramaiah and Minister for Large and Medium Industries and Infrastructure Development RV Deshpande launching the policy for Non-resident Kannadigas in Bengaluru
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FREEBIES BY LORRY LOADS
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n pursuit of his vision of empowering the Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes and Tribes and the minorities, Siddaramaiah has been driven by acute awareness of deprivations prevalent among these sections that stem from the mindset of exclusion. A die-hard socialist, he had been part of people’s struggles and movements for equality and justice by remedying the redressable aspects of exclusion. The budgets have therefore targeted taking the truck-loads of freebies as well as the benefits to every quarter of life and development to each nook and cranny of the State.
Left: 2017 - Chief Minister Siddaramaiah during the state budget at the Vidhana Soudha Top: 2015 - Siddaramaiah addressing public grievances in Bengaluru
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INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT Top & Right: 2017 - Siddaramaiah visits the government expo at Maharaja College grounds in Mysuru
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uarters close to him confide that he concurs with economist Joseph Stiglitz’s theory wherein he likens ‘Development’ to transforming societies by improving the lives of the poor. His insistence on disaggregated data pertaining to social categories resonates with American Philosopher Martha C. Nussbaum’s doctrine wherein she says: “Aggregate data are not enough for assessment of how a nation is doing; we need to know how each person is doing, considering each as a separate life.”
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FEVERISH PACE
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is penchant for inclusion of the have-nots gathered a feverish pace following his ascension to the top. Karnataka became the second state, after Maharashtra, under the Union to pass legislation extending reservation in tender for civil works. A total of 24.10 per cent of the public works under Rs. 50 lakh were reserved for the SC/ST contractors. Passed in April 2017, the law reserved as much as 17.15 per cent of the tenders for the SCs and 6.95 per cent for the STs.
Left: 2017 - A road being asphalted in HSR Layout Top: 2014 - The Chief Minister seen inspecting a road developed by BBMP
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Darkness will not cast on the future of the land where women and children are the focus of development. This is a simple truth which I have found out by experience. Today, even reputed private institutions are appreciating the steps taken by the State with regard to empowerment of women and in shaping the future of the children.
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HEFTY HIKES
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he allocation for Social Welfare Department saw a massive increase in allocation of funds in four years to Rs. 87,000 crore since Siddaramaiah’s advent to power. In 2017-18 budget, the allocation spiked to Rs. 27,000. These funds were being routed
to 37 departments to be spent on only the SCs and STs. According to the CM, ‘I am laying an extensive economic framework for social justice – one of the objectives of our Constitution and purely an inclusive development model with a human face.’
Left: 2011 - A group sitting at Beggars’ colony in Summanahalli Top: 2016 - Chief Minister Siddramaiah, Minister for Social Welfare H Anjaneya, Minister for Primary and Secondary Education Tanveer Sait addressing a press meet
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SPEAKING FOR THE VOICELESS
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here could be reasons for Siddaramaiah looking at deprivation from social perspective rather than considering it an economic malady. He feels that caste-based socio-economic and political exclusion are more dangerous than class-based exclusion as the former is inherited from a distant past. Constitutional provisions for their empowerment have only marginally helped them because they are voiceless people and there are not many to represent their needs and aspirations. Even media, both electronic as well as print, focuses more on the deprivations of certain sections belonging to the traditionally socially privileged. This in effect renders the SCs, STs, OBCs and the minorities into a voiceless category who do not get due representation in decision-making process.
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REGIONAL IMBALANCE Left: 2015 - Siddaramaiah unveiling the statue of former Chief Minister S R Bommai in Hubballi
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iddaramaiah has remained undeterred despite criticism. He has grown convinced that the development-deprivations paradox that confronted the State around its formation in 1956 continued to haunt it even in 2013 and that globalisation had widened the economic disparities. Any further ignorance of the realities would
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threaten the united existence of Karnataka. Murmurs of discrimination against northern Karnataka had begun to be raised during the tenures of former chief ministers. These led to headquarters of the South Western Railway being located at Hubballi and an IIT being sanctioned for Dharwad region.
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Commitment of women in carefully building society as daughters, mothers and sisters is unquestionable. Therefore, gender-sensitive features are deeply rooted in our fiscal policy, which will provide equal opportunities and choices by removing gender inequality.
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COMMUNAL HARMONY
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iddaramaiah’s tenure has been largely free from communal conflicts. Law and order machinery had been vigilant enough to deal with eruptions insitu with prompt action. The police administration acted swiftly against BJP’s bicycle yatra proposed to be taken out from Chitradurga to Mangalore in August 2017. Though the State Government restrained from imposing any ban or issuing
any statement, the local police administrations saw to it that the yatra did not materialise, lest it provoke any frenzy reminiscent of the divisive yatras in the Gangetic plain of the 1990s. However, the Government did not budge from its stand on conducting official celebrations of Tipu Jayanti all across the State, warning anti-social elements against disrupting the official functions. The celebrations went off peacefully.
Left: 2015 - Siddaramaiah greets children on the occasion of Ramzan at Idgah Maidan in Chamarajpet in Bengaluru Top: The Chief Minister pays tribute to Tipu Sultan in the presence of ministers K J George and Roshan Baig during the inauguration of the Hazrat Tipu Jayanthi in Bengaluru
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ARIVU SCHOLARSHIPS Top: 2014 - Siddaramaiah handing over a bank draft of Rs 15 Crores to Municipal Administration and Waqf Minister, late Qamarul Islam under Arivu Scheme
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arnataka became the most successful State in implementing scholarship schemes for professional courses for students from the Minority communities under Arivu scheme. Almost all students belonging to the communities pursuing medical, engineering or dental courses were availing of loans ranging from Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 50,000 per year. This came as a big boon to the poor families. Similarly, around 2.50 lakh students from these communities were being provided free food and stay at around 250 BCM (Backward Communities and Minorities) Hostels maintained by the Social Welfare Department. Over 500 students were also pursuing higher education in foreign universities, thanks to the liberal sanction of overseas scholarship.
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MAINSTREAMING
Left: 2014 - Chittapur MLA Priyank Kharge and Siddaramaiah at the foundation laying ceremony for the new Wadi-Gadag broad gauge line in Wadi Top: 2015 - A delegation of MPs and MLAs from Bidar calling on the Chief Minister to discuss drought situation in the district
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pecial measures were needed not merely to address inequalities, but even to better integrate varied regions with development process. Merger of areas from erstwhile State of Nizam of Hyderabad with low Human Development Index (HDI) had pulled down the State’s overall HDI a few notches below its previous glorious heights. A bill giving special status to six backward districts namely Kalaburagi, Bidar, Raichur, Yadgir, Koppal and Ballari was passed by the Parliament through Constitutional amendment of Article 371 (J) through efforts of Mallikarjuna Kharge, MP, and former Union Railway Minister. Consequently, Hyderabad-Karnataka Region Development Board (HKRDB) was formed on November 6, 2013. The Board approved an outlay of Rs. 852 crore during 2013-14 and Rs. 1,000 crore was allotted to the Board for taking up infrastructure works and reducing institutional gaps. By 2016-17, the allocation under Special Development Plan had soared up to Rs. 25,439 crore, of which Rs. 16,086 crore had been spent.
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2016 - Prime Minister Narendra Modi in discussion with Siddaramaiah during the inauguration of the 103rd Indian Science Congress at University of Mysore
2017 - Former President Pranab Mukherjee interacting with Siddaramaiah and Union minister H N Ananth Kumar after laying the foundation stone for Dr B R Ambedkar School of Economics
2017 - President Ram Nath Kovind being greeted by Chief Minister Siddaramaih at Rashtrapati Bhavan
2015 - German Chancellor Angela Merkel with Siddaramaiah at the Robert Bosch facility in Bengaluru
2015 - Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar with Siddaramaiah during the inauguration of the joint conference of the CMs and CJs of High Courts at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi
2015 - Siddaramaiah with Alphonsus Stoelinga, Ambassador of Netherlands to India during an MoU signing between Karnataka and the Netherlands government
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2014 - With Governor Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala
2015 - Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Siddaramaiah and MP Ananth Kumar
2015 - With Isha Foundation founder Sadguru Jaggi Vasudev
2016 - Siddaramaiah with senior counsel of Supreme Court Fali S Nariman in New Delhi discussing about releasing Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu. Water Resources Minister M B Patil looks on
2014 - Siddaramaiah greets newly elected Congress Parliamentary party leader M Mallikarjuna Kharge in New Delhi
2014 - With Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama
2014 - Siddaramaiah felicitates his Andhra Pradesh counterpart, N Chandrababu Naidu during the latter’s visit to discuss the Tungabhadra river water issue
2015 - With Grammy award-winning musician Ricky Kej
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GRADUAL SHIFT
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conomists have noticed a gradual shift of focus on capacity building among the members of the underprivileged sections. One pointer in this direction is available in the State taking up the implementation of the RTE with all earnestness. The stress on Right to Education (RTE) led the Government to direct private schools to set aside 25 per cent seats for the children from weaker sections. The State took upon itself the burden of reimbursement of the fee component on the Right to Education or RTE-compliant admissions. The number of children (6-14 age group), admitted
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into private schools in the State rose from 49,282 in 2012-13 to 2.99 lakh in 2015-16, a six-fold jump, under the Right to Education Act. The quantum of fee being reimbursed to the private schools by the State Government rose from Rs. 21 crore to Rs. 204 crore in 2015-16, a tenfold rise. Social sector spending on health, education and housing received new impetus during the period. There was similar emphasis on strengthening of panchayati raj system and enabling the weaker sections such as artisans and weavers and building super specialty hospitals at taluka level.
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QUALITY EDUCATION Right: 2011 - Siddaramaiah issuing cycles to K R Mills Government School Children in Mysuru
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n another level, the Siddaramaiah Government expanded the network of the Government Residential Schools, taking their number to 506. These schools were the outcome of the realisation that rural children remain deprived of quality education due to lack of infrastructure and well-qualified teachers in mainstream government schools. Funds were allocated in 2017-18 Budget for opening of another 353 of them. Named after various national leaders such as former Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi, Morarji Desai and Atal Behari Vajpayee, father of the Indian Constitution Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the first Education Minister Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, these schools have been set up in rural areas to enable the rural kids to access quality education.
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ENLARGING THE SHIELD Left: 2013 - Food, civil supplies and consumer affairs minister Dinesh Gundu Rao and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah during the inauguration of Re 1 per kg rice scheme for BPL cardholders at Freedom Park in Bengaluru Top: 2017 - Beneficiaries of additional two kilograms of rice under Annabhagya in Bengaluru
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n keeping with his philosophy of freedom from hunger, Siddaramaiah announced Anna Bhagya scheme on his first day in office in pursuit of food security. The State’s outgo on food security account rose to Rs. 4,000 crore. In fact, the State outdid all other states by supplying seven kilograms of free rice every month to every member of a BPL card-holding family. Of this, five kgs were being supplied by the Centre (as mandated under the Act) while two kgs. were supplemented by the State. Around 11 million families, or more than 80% of the State’s people were covered under the scheme implemented under the National Food Security Act 2013. Not to be ignored is the fact that the state government was procuring rice (2 kg per person, per month being the State component) at a price ranging from Rs. 27 to 30 from the farmers. Alongside the free rice, BPL families were being provided subsidised wheat, salt, sugar, kerosene and oil. The scheme had 108.97 lakh beneficiaries when it was launched in May 2015. The scheme had a salutary effect in combating hunger in nine arid districts of the state (namely Bidar, Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Raichur, Ballari, Chitradurga, Tumakuru, Chikkaballapur, and Kolar). There were no starvation deaths in these districts while a caravan of starvation death devoured around 4,000 lives from the adjoining districts of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh since 2013.
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The Gross State Domestic Product in the year 2016-17 grew at the rate of 6.9 per cent as against the rate of 7.3 per cent during 201516. Agriculture sector is estimated to grow by 1.5 per cent. The industry sector is expected to grow at 2.2 per cent compared to 4.9 per cent during the previous year while the service sector is expected to register a growth of 8.5 per cent during the current year as compared to 10.4 per cent the previous year.
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HEALTH COVER
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arnataka Government reworked the Arogyasri Scheme to encompass the Above Poverty Line (APL) families by bearing 70 per cent of the cost for up to Rs. 1.50 lakh in general wards and up to 50 per cent in semi-private and private wards of hospital for ailments in seven distinct categories. The implementation was entrusted to Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust (SAST). The Yashasvini Scheme, which was limited to rural areas, was extended to urban area. The scheme had enrolled 93 lakh people in the first three years. Around 9,300 water kiosks, providing clean drinking water, were installed in villages providing drinking water to 1.5 crore people.
Siddaramaiah flagging off 150 new 108 Arogya Kavacha Ambulances at Vidhana Soudha
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FREEDOM FROM DEBT
griculture holds the key to food production. It did not take much time for Siddaramaiah to announce the Krushi Bhagya Scheme in July 2014. He had set about the task with unquenchable passion. The scheme envisioned infusion of modern technology in farming and the farmers were to be extended the benefit of renting out farm machinery at affordable rates. By March 2017, 183 such centres had been set up across the state and there was a proposal to start another 278 new centres. Around a million farmers had benefitted from the machinery renting scheme in three years. Most of the State’s farming community is perpetually rain-dependent, hence it envisaged water management schemes by digging farm ponds for harvesting rainwater. Latest reports state that nearly 1.2 lakh such farm ponds have been dug in the State. It also provided for holding Krishi Melas all over the State to enable exchange of farm-related information with the farmers. The state government had waived 50,000 loans amounting to over Rs. 8,000 crore. Siddaramaiah has revealed that his government had planned to spend Rs. 50,000 crore on agriculture over a five-year period, but as of now had already spent Rs. 60,000 crore, including Rs. 15,900 crore for major irrigation.
Top: 2015 - A delegation of farmers from Davangere calling on the Chief Minister at his home office Krishna in Bengaluru
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COMBATING MALNUTRITION
he first scheme launched by the Siddaramaiah government was Ksheera Bhagya Scheme, on August 1, 2013. The scheme covered 65 lakh children in government and government-aided schools and 39 lakh children in Anganwadis. The scheme was launched in collaboration with the Karnataka Cooperative Milk Producers Federation (KMF) and envisaged providing 150 ml of milk to each child.
Left: 2013 - Siddaramaiah launches the Ksheera Bhagya scheme at Hoskote Top: 2015 - Chief Minister Siddaramaiah feeding a cow during the World Milk Day function organised by KMF in Bengaluru
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Limited use of water is key to sustainable agriculture. In this context, thrust has been given to micro irrigation by providing 90% subsidy and tripling the allocation for the same during the last 4 years. Community micro irrigation projects like Ramthal have been taken up on a large scale. Under this programme, drip and sprinkler irrigation units have been distributed to 3.9 lakh farmers covering an area of 4 lakh hectares.
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ENSURING MATERNAL HEALTH
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nother visionary step towards improving Human Development Index was taken by launching the Mathru Poorna Scheme on Gandhi Jayanthi day i.e., October 2, 2017. The scheme envisages providing one high-calorie meal to pregnant and lactating mothers for 25 days in a month. The scheme covers 12 lakh women and provided 200 grams of milk, rice, dal, sambhar, a vegetable and a boiled egg to each such woman. Those who do not take eggs are given two varieties of sprouts in order to compensate their need for calcium and iron. Each meal’s cost is computed at Rs. 20 and is meant to be served for 15 months, beginning nine months before delivery till six months of post-natal period. The scheme is being implemented with the help of anganwadi workers at the anganwadi centres.
2017 - Pregnant and lactating women have lunch during the launch of Mathru Poorna scheme
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FOOD FOR URBAN POOR Top & Right: 2017 - Indira Canteens have become a hit with their quality food at low prices
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iddaramaiah is not found wanting when it comes to emulating schemes targeted at benefitting the poor. He launched the ‘Indira Canteens’ in the State on August 15, 2017 after having sanctioned Rs. 100 crore in the State Budget 2017-18. Modelled after ‘Amma Canteens’ launched by the Jayalalithaa Government in neighbouring Tamil Nadu, two hundred of these eateries have been set up in Bengaluru itself, one each in 198 municipal wards in the city. Initial response has been found to be encouraging and there are umpteen thumbs up for the scheme to be given further impetus. The food at low cost served in dignified and hygienic ambience stands out as hallmark of these eateries. As for canteens being planned in other regions of the state, the government envisaged introducing region-specific cuisine such as jowar rotis in Hubballi, ragi mudde in old Mysore districts and fish curry in coastal districts.
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POWERING THE STATE
Top: 2016 - Construction of a 400/220 KV pooling station by Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd near Kyataganacharlu in Pavagada taluk
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ower position during the Siddaramaiah’s rule made distinct progress under the ‘24x7 Power for All’ programme. In 2012-13, the State’s installed capacity stood at 13,934 megawatt (MW). It has gone up to 17,110 MW in 2016-17. The performance of power generation under public sector units (Karnataka Power Corporation Limited) was more encouraging. In 2012-13 the units under KPCL were generating 6,498 megawatt (MW). The State added 2,325 MW between then and 2016-17 taking the figure to 8,823 MW, a leap of 33 per cent, during the four-year period. Overall, the State has opted for development of the renewable energy too. The state has been setting up the Asia’s largest solar energy park in Pavagada, an extremely backward taluka in Tumakuru district (ringed from all sides by Andhra Pradesh barring a strip that connects it to Karnataka, on 13,000 acre of land (53 sq. km.) to produce 2,000 MW of electricity. The land has been taken on lease from farmers at a rate of Rs. 21,000 per year per acre. The rate of compensation will be enhanced by 5 per cent annually. Located 180 kms north-east of Bengaluru, it provides employment to 4,000 persons. It is likely to be operational by September 2018. The State witnessed a rise in electrification of households to 97.6 per cent compared to 90.6 per cent in 2011 Census against the national average of 88.2 per cent.
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To enhance farmers’ income, thrust has been given to Animal Husbandry through Pashu Bhagya and Ksheera Dhare schemes. This has increased the income of marginal farmers and also increased milk collection in the state. Under Pashu Bhagya scheme, 50% subsidy to SC/ST communities and 25% subsidy to general category is being given. During 2015-16 and 201617, 27,869 beneficiaries have been benefited at a cost of Rs.91 crore.
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FISCAL CONSERVATIVE
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iddaramaiah is described as a fiscal conservative. He never allowed the budget deficit to go beyond 3 per cent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) which currently stands at 2.12 per cent. The broad fiscal indicators continue to perform well and within the limits prescribed by the Karnataka Fiscal Responsibility Act (KFRA) 2002. The outstanding debt to GSDP ratio was down to a moderate 18 per cent (in 2017) from 23.86 per cent and 23.14 per cent in 2016 and 2015, respectively, thereby lending strength to the state’s credit rating. The State had a evenue surplus of Rs. 522 crore (2016-17 Budget).
Left: 2017 - Chief Minister Siddaramaiah during the state budget at the Vidhana Soudha Top: 2017 - As Siddaramiah’s budget presentation goes on, businessmen watching the market fluctuations at FKCCI in Bengaluru
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NEW TEXTILE POLICY
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distinct milestone in the industrial sector was the unveiling of the New Textile Policy (Nuthana Javali Neethi) 2013-18 by the Siddaramaiah government on October 31, 2013. Karnataka contributes 20 per cent to the garment production in India valued at US$ 1.56 billion annually, 8 per cent to the export of garments from India, 35 per cent to the country’s total raw silk production and 6 per cent of the nation’s cotton and 11 per cent of the country’s wool production. The State has seven textile parks and 386,000 manufacturing units of textile and around 55,000 weavers. The Textile Policy envisages attracting Rs. 100 billion investments into the sector and creating 50,000 jobs. However, more importantly, it calls for dispersal of the industry in various parts of the State such as Yadgir, Sira, Chamrajnagar, Kudutini (Ballari district).
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UNBLEMISHED
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ooked at from the angle of corruptiontainted electoral politics of today, Siddaramaiah comes off as a scrupulously clean-handed person whose career has been without a stain on this score all through his ministerial tenures. He had promised ‘a transparent, corruptionfree government’ while entering office. His predecessors holding Finance portfolio had been allowing licences for ‘toddy extraction’ to contractors who used to pass off a chemical brew in the name of toddy resulting in blindness and a number of health issues for those who consumed this poisonous brew. In his last ministerial meeting as Finance Minister, a group of party legislators had pressed for inclusion of licences to excise contractors from Bidar and Kalaburagi districts in the cabinet meeting agenda against a quid pro quo. But Siddaramaiah shot down the proposal, thereby jeopardizing the prospects of procuring licences for the contractors. He had warned the then Excise Commissioner not to be seen anywhere near Vidhana Soudha around the time. An official who stood watching the meeting says, Siddaramaiah had thundered: “Do you represent the people, or the Excise contractors? Do you want me to bargain the people’s health against cheap gain for the State?”
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Disclaimer: Although the author and publisher have made every effort to ensure that the information in this book was correct at press time, the author and publisher do not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause. Published by Express Publications (Madurai) Limited Text: M A Siraj | Design: Vishwanatha G | Photos: Vinod Kumar T, Nagesh Polali, Nagaraja Gadekal, Pushkar V, Shimoga Nandan, Udayshankar S Editorial Coordinator: Vyas Sivanand Marketing: General Manager (Karnataka) - P Suresh Kumar Assistant General Manager (Events) - K M Sidhique
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