Siddaramaiah responds with facts and figures to R.Ashok’s ‘Champion of Backward Classes’ jibe

In response to the Leader of Opposition from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) R.Ashok’s comment that the Chief Minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah is the champion of the backward classes, Siddaramaiah responded with facts and figures. This was while he answered questions that emerged during the discussion that emerged from the governor’s speech. “Have BJP leaders ever visited Scheduled Caste (SC)/Scheduled Tribe (ST) hostels at the district and taluk level? Are they aware of the problems of this community? Have they responded to their problems,” Siddaramaiah asked. 

He provided a comparative analysis of the work done by both governments with regard to this issue. “From 2013 to 2018, the expenses for food in hostels saw an increment. The cost per head in 2014 increased from Rs 750 to Rs 900 for students up to class 10 and from Rs 850 to Rs 1000 for students at a grade higher than class 10. By 2017-2018 the expenditure had increased up to Rs 1400 and Rs1500 for both these categories respectively. However between 2019 and 2022, there wasn’t an increment of even Rs 1. The net expenditure for students by Congress was Rs 1288.67 crore whereas the BJP only spent Rs 650.78 crore. In the Vidyasiri scheme Congress allocated Rs 431.68 crore whereas BJP spent Rs 197.62 crore. We opened 308 hostels to accommodate 30800 students of backward classes. BJP opened 5 hostels that accommodated 500 students,” Siddaramaih mentioned to the claps of Congress MLAs in the Vidhana Sabha.