CM may counter Congress moves with schemes in budget for BPL families

BENGALURU: Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai may well be preparing to spring a surprise and put the Congress on the backfoot when he announces his budget in the third week of February.

The CM, who had, on January 14, hinted at financial support for women to meet domestic expenses, may be planning to dish out doles of Rs 1,000, Rs 1,500 and Rs 2,000 to women from Below Poverty Line (BPL) families, depending on their situation.

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai speaking at the Mysore Medical College and Research Institute in Mysuru on Monday.

The government has already announced the Stree Samarthya Yojana and preparations are under way for its implementation which is expected to be launched by the CM by January-end or early February. Under the scheme, two Stree Shakti groups in each village will be given grants of Rs 5 lakh.

The developments have given rise to intense speculation on whether the CM knew beforehand about the Congress’ plan to announce th Gruha Lakshmi scheme or whether the Congress knew about the CM’s plans to make announcements in the budget.