Faced with criticism that his government is cutting allocations for welfare schemes, Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa has clarified that he has no plans of cutting funds for Anna Bhagya, a scheme that offers free rice to the poor. “Our government is a pro-people government. I have already signed the file to release grants to continue Anna Bhagya scheme,” he said in a press release on Saturday.
Earlier in the day, former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah lambasted the government’s proposal to “meddle with” the Anna Bhagya scheme and said the party would launch protests if the Yediyurappa government reduced the quantity of rice and limited the number of beneficiaries. “These anti-poverty schemes are acting as a support system during this economic slowdown, which is a result of [Narendra] Modi’s short-sighted and careless approach towards policy-making. Any change to our pro-poor schemes will disturb the livelihoods of many families,” he said. “I have also learnt that the government is not providing funds for Indira Canteens, which [cost] around ₹200 crore a year.”