Bengaluru: The Congress-ruled Karnataka government rolled out the ‘Gruha Lakshmi’ scheme on August 30, 2023. This scheme is a part of one among the five poll promises made by the Congress Party during its election campaign. Congress President Shri Mallikarjun Kharge and MP Shri Rahul Gandhi, who arrived in Bengaluru ahead of the launch of the scheme, transferred the amount into the bank accounts of the beneficiaries of ‘Gruha Lakshmi Yojana’, through direct benefit transfer (DBT).

To mark the launch, Shri Mallikarjun Kharge and Shri Rahul Gandhi lit the traditional lamp and Shri Kharge later pressed the remote button when the cheque of Rs. 2,000 was displayed onscreen and a theme song was played. A physical cheque was also displayed on the dais. Simultaneously, Shri Rahul Gandhi too pressed the launch button on an I-pad, signalling the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) to the bank accounts.

While addressing the event, Shri Rahul Gandhi said, “Before the elections, Congress Party had made five promises to Karnataka. We had said that when Congress Party and its leaders say something, they do it. Today, when we clicked on the tablet, crores of women received `2000 directly into their bank accounts.”

Mentioning all promises one-by-one, former Congress President Shri Rahul Gandhi said that the pre-poll guarantees will ensure that the principles of a welfare state will reach the grassroot population. “The guarantees will strengthen the roots of families. If roots are weak, a tree is unable to stand. Congress is attempting to strengthen the roots of households by empowering women in the face of rising inflation,” he said.

The former Congress President said that he had met thousands of women during his ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ earlier this year. “In Karnataka, we walked for around 600 kilometres. I talked to you and I understood one thing clearly. You said that inflation is affecting you...It is the women who suffer its blow. Thousands of women told me that they couldn’t bear the inflation. I understood that the women of Karnataka are the foundation of this state...” he said.

The guarantees assured and implemented by the Government in Karnataka is the main aim of a welfare state that ensures the welfare of its entire population and not limited to a few individuals. “Karnataka has shown the way to the nation how such guarantees can be implemented nationwide. This scheme has not been formulated by any industrialist or a think-tank. It is your scheme and you women showed us the way,” he added.

Speaking at the launch event Shri Rahul Gandhi said, “There is a fashion in the country. The government in Delhi (at the Centre) works for billionaires...We think that the government should work for the poor and the weak.”

The ‘Gruha Lakshmi’ scheme is offering a monthly assistance of Rs. 2,000 to about 1.1 crore women who are heads of their households.

Earlier, the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had said that his government has already implemented three of the five ‘guarantees’ (pre-poll promises) — ‘Shakti’, ‘Gruha Jyothi’ and ‘Annabhagya’ — and noted that ‘Gruha Lakshmi’ is the fourth one. The government has earmarked Rs. 17,500 crores for the ‘Gruha Lakshmi’ programme in the current financial year.

The fifth guarantee ‘Yuva Nidhi’ (Youth Fund) promises to give Rs. 3000 and Rs. 1,500 a month to the unemployed graduates and diploma holders, respectively, who failed to get a job even after six months of clearing the exam in the 2022-23 academic year. The scheme will be launched in December 2023.

The leaders also released a booklet highlighting the achievements of the first 100 days of Congress Government in Karnataka.

The scheme was out at a public function in Mysuru in the presence of Congress President Shri Mallikarjun Kharge, Chief Minister Shri Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister & PCC President Shri D.K. Shivakumar and a host of Cabinet Ministers, including Minister for Women and Child Welfare Ms. Lakshmi Hebbalkar, Minister for Social Welfare Shri H.C. Mahadevappa, who is the Minister in-charge of Mysuru district, Minister for Public Works Shri Satish Jarkiholi and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee’s Office-Bearers were among those present at the launch function on Maharaja College grounds, attended by tens of thousands of people.