The principal Opposition Congress in the State seems to have played a role in pushing the BJP government to announce a ₹1,610-crore relief package.
KPCC president-designate D.K. Shivakumar has been questioning the B.S. Yediyurappa-led government since the announcement of lockdown for its “poor response” to difficulties faced by the unorganised sector workers. After holding a series of meetings with party’s senior leaders, the Congress petitioned the government demanding announcement of monetary relief of ₹10,000 each to unorganised workers and small and medium industries who are in distress owing to COVID-19 induced lockdown.
Though the BJP government announced some relief measures to farmers and construction workers during the passage of the State budget in March, the Congress said the relief was like “peanuts” when compared to financial difficulties faced by daily wage workers during the lockdown. The Congress kept up sustained pressure on the government to announce relief measures.
A few Congress legislators even visited villages around Bengaluru to buy produce from farmers and distributed it among the poor. This forced the government to not only constitute ministerial teams but also directed Deputy Commissioners to make arrangements to procure perishable commodities in rural areas and sell them in urban centres. Even KSRTC buses were pressed into service to fetch essential items.
Pressure from Congress also had a role in the government’s decision to operate free KSRTC buses for migrant workers travelling back to their homes in North Karnataka districts. The government had initially fixed hefty ticket prices. The party offered to pay ₹1 crore towards bus fares of migrant workers.
It is apparently with the support of Congress that liquor shops were opened in non COVID-19 containment zones, which would help the government tide over the financial crisis to some extent. Again, it was the Congress’s suggestion that the BJP stop releasing funds for implementing projects that are economically unviable.
