In ancient Rome, the infamous Nero fiddled while Rome blazed in an immense fire. Perhaps, the Chief Minister of Karnataka, Siddaramaiah is all set to replace the ill-famed Nero. His three and a half year long tenure has crippled the people of Karnataka with disastrous economic policies, divisiveness, nepotism, double-dealing, inefficiency, fake-secularism, bureaucratic lapse, etc. However, the prurient acts of senior cabinet ministers HY Meti and Tanveer Sait have blocked the growth of the Congress before the 2018 assembly polls.
In 2013, Siddaramaiah embarked his regime with the Shaadi Bhagya Scheme – to provide monetary benefit for economically backward brides in Karnataka. Opposition parties and others all over the state condemned this scheme as an appeasement strategy to clinch Muslim votes. A recent news report published in The Hindu said, “27,596 of eligible Shaadi Bhagya applications are still pending.”
Soon after this, Anna Bhagya Scheme was launched to supply 30 kgs of rice at र1 per kg to BPL (Below Poverty Level) families. With this initiative, a barrier between APL (Above Poverty Level) and BPL card holders was created. Freebies and populist schemes were bound to cost the state exchequer in the long run.
Industrial growth plays a vital role in economic growth. In the last three years, Karnataka government has failed to live up to the expectations of investors. The growth rate of the state’s economy has decreased from 7.8% during 2014-15 to 6.2% during 2015-16. Online giant Amazon shifted its central warehouse from Bengaluru to Hyderabad and blamed the government’s senseless attitude towards industrial growth.
Hindu and Christian groups of Karnataka staunchly opposed Siddaramaiah government’s announcement to celebrate the birth anniversary of 18th-century monarch Tipu Sultan. Last year, during Tipu Jayanti celebrations, two people were killed in Coorg due to communal disharmony. Education minister, Tanveer Sait was also caught watching porn during Tipu Jayanti celebrations.
Senior ministers of Siddaramaiah’s cabinet have been the focal point of inappropriateness. In 2015, a local news channel aired footage of Social Welfare Minister H Anjaneya’s wife accepting a bribe for passing a tender; Anupama Shenoy, a Dy SP was transferred for putting ex-labour minister Parameshwar Naik’s call on hold; Mysore’s DC Shikha was allegedly harassed and subsequently transferred by Mari Gowda, a close aide of the CM.
State government’s inattentiveness to the deaths of DK Ravi, Kallappa Handibag, Maalikarjun Bande and MK Ganapati has compelled the people of Karnataka to suspect massive foul-play. Meanwhile, media adviser to CM, Dinesh Amin Mattu is facing backlash for a Facebook post on PM Narendra Modi. Untamed horses of Siddu’s team seem to be the root of every problem; his inability to guide the cabinet is a negative add-on to his inefficient governance. As per political pundits, the state government has created a huge gap between the administration and the people of Karnataka.
After a strenuous political turmoil, people of Karnataka elected the Congress government as a beacon of hope in 2013. The decisions and the shameful behaviour of Siddaramaiah’s cabinet are bringing Karnataka close to a Congress-mukt Karnataka. In fact, the inefficiency of Congress might turn into a political opportunity for BJP, Janata Dal (Secular) and other parties in the 2018 assembly elections.
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