Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (ANK)
Mangaluru, Jun 1: Food and civil supplies minister U T Khader on Thursday June 1 lambasted the central government on the ban on cattle trade for slaughter and termed this move a 'political gimmick' to 'hide the failure of the last four years of the BJP-led government'.
Addressing a press meet here, Khader said, "This is not an Act but just rules by the central government, which is against the Constitution of India. The move to ban cattle slaughter will create chaos in the country and uncertainty among people. When a certain law is enforced there should be a brief discussion in the parliament but in this case there has been no discussion. This law is fragile when compared to the 1964 Act."
Regarding issues raised by Endosulfan victims in a recent protest at Kokkada, Khader said, "The recent protest was politically motivated. Those behind the protest were taking undue advantage of the victims. The previous government had released Rs 5 crore and distributed Rs 50,000 each to 100 Endosulfan patients. When our government came to power, cards were issued, pension was fixed, free treatment was given to the patients in the hospitals and for the first time survey was taken to identify Endosulfan patients. Now they are trying to take advantage of the victims."
Claiming that the central government has been neglecting Karnataka, he said, "The central government has introduced Ujjwal scheme but it has not been commissioned in Karnataka from the past three years. The central government has neglected the people of Karnataka who have been eagerly waiting for this scheme. Even though chief minister Siddaramaiah wrote a letter in this regard to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the latter failed to respond. Hence, now, we will introduce the 'Anila Bhagya' scheme where needy people will be provided gas stove, gas cylinder and connection. Nearly 10 lac people, including 2.5 lac who were selected under the Ujjwal scheme, will be covered under this scheme. Each connection costs upto Rs 4,000, but will be given free of charge to the beneficiaries."