Nothing wrong in allocating funds for Muslim colonies: Shivakumar

Bengaluru, Dec 30 (IANS) Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Saturday reacted to the objection raised by the opposition over allocation of Rs 1,000 crore for Muslim colonies in the state, saying that there is nothing wrong in it.

“I will take you to Ramanagara town. You can see for yourself the condition of the minorities. This decision has been taken to improve their livelihoods. If Rs 1,000 crore is divided among 224 assembly constituencies, it is not much,” the Deputy Chief Minister told media persons.

He said that the minorities mostly live in urban areas and they don’t have the benefit of MGNREGA scheme.

“There is nothing wrong in allocating the funds. Let them keep complaining and we will continue to work for the poor,” he said when asked about BJP’s criticism that the fund allocation is minority appeasement.

On Lok Sabha polls, the Deputy Chief Minister said that he will hold a preparatory meeting with party leaders, MLAs and AICC leaders on January 10.

On his proposed visit to Delhi on January 4, he said, “There is a meeting regarding the Lok Sabha polls. Ministers have given reports about candidate selection. A survey needs to be done. We are going to Delhi to discuss that.”

About the cheque bounce case of Minister Madhu Bangarappa, he said that things do happen when one is in business.

Shivakumar said that the party workers and legislators will get equal share in the appointments to Boards and Corporations. “Party workers will get their due share in the appointments to Boards and Corporations. All the leaders in the party will sit and discuss it. The list has been finalised to some extent. The central leaders have made certain promises. It needs to be discussed. The list is likely to be finalised by the Sankranthi festival,” he said.

“People are coming to our doorsteps with their grievances. We have decided to take the government to their doorstep through the ‘Government at Your Doorstep’ programme,” the Deputy Chief Minister said.

He said that through this programme, the government will address the grievances of all the 28 constituencies in Bengaluru by January.

“Two to three assembly constituencies will be covered at a time. The respective local MLAs and MPs have been invited to participate in the programme,” he said.

–IANS

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