Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said he is considering an increase in pension for senior citizens, which could come into effect after the next state budget is announced. The Congress stalwart came to it after being pressed by his cabinet colleague Lakshmi Hebbalkar, who is the minister for the women and child welfare department.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, CM Siddaramaiah said he will “seriously consider” Hebbalkar’s request to dispense ₹2,000 as pension for the elderly against the ₹1,000 being bestowed currently.
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“A decision on this will be taken in the next budget. Treating elders with respect and adopting their life values is the respect we give to elders. It is better to live a meaningful life as long as we have it,” he told news agency ANI. Siddaramaiah was at an event to honour seniors who received state awards in various fields.
He also addressed the recent stone-pelting incident in Shivamogga during a religious procession and said, “In our government, we take strict action to contain communal incidents quickly. Whoever indulges in communal incidents, strict action is taken against them.”
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Karnataka police have registered 24 cases in this regard and arrested as many as 60 people so far, police told agencies on Tuesday. Siddaramaiah also dismissed allegations by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that communally violent incidents are on the rise ever since the Congress government came to power.
The Siddaramaiah-led Congress government is currently also under fire for delaying the release of a caste census report from a survey conducted in the state. Senior Congress leaders including B K Hariprasad and former Union minister M Veerappa Moily have urged the state government to reveal the data from the survey.
(With ANI inputs)
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