Tuesday 3rd Dec, 2024
Bengaluru: Narendra Modi’s policy has created space in Jammu and Kashmir for Pakistan to “misbehave”, said Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday a day after the Prime Minister said the problem in Kashmir can be resolved by embracing the people not through bullets and abuses.
Gandhi was in Bengaluru to inaugurate Indira Canteen, the Karnataka government’s subsidised outlets that will provide breakfast at Rs 5 and lunch and dinner at Rs 10.
The Prime Minister represents the spirit of the people of India, and it is time Narendra Modi starts “acting and operating” like a PM, said Gandhi at a rally here, adding Modi has created an “environment” of hatred and anger in Jammu and Kashmir.
Apparently taking the cue from the popular ‘Amma canteens’ in Tamil Nadu, introduced by late former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government had announced setting up of the canteens in the state budget for 2017-2018.
Initially referred to as ‘Namma Canteen’, the name was later changed to ‘Indira Canteen’ as Congress legislators sought to give a political touch to the populist announcement ahead of the Assembly polls early next year by naming it after former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
An amount of Rs 100 crore was provided in the budget to set up the canteens in 198 wards of Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).
Congratulating the state government for the canteen programme, Gandhi said it is designed to make sure that not a single person in Bengaluru goes hungry.
Calling the world an “unfair place”, the Congress vice president, who also had a lunch at the canteen, said it is targeted at the working class like construction workers and auto rickshaw drivers.
“There are many people in this city who live in huge houses and have plenty of food, who drive in big cars and for them food is not a big issue..but there are millions of people in Bengaluru like construction workers, those who own small shops, autorickshaw or taxi drivers, barbers and people who don’t get that much money, and it is those people at whom this Indira Canteen is targeted,” he said.
“We want the people from poorest and weakest sections in Bengaluru to feel that they will no have to stay hungry in this city. There cannot be a single minute where a poor person in Bengaluru is hungry. We want every single person to know and understand that,” he added.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Congress general secretary in-charge of the state KC Venugopal, the party’s state unit chief G Parameshwara and Bengaluru in-charge minister KJ George, among others were present at the event.
Taking pride over the Congress government conceptualising such a canteen, Gandhi said the intention was that the quality of food and cleanliness in it be the same as the most expensive restaurants in Bengaluru.
“I would like the government to pay special attention to this fact that the canteen should have excellent quality food, excellent hygiene and people walking out of this canteen must feel that they not only had safe food, but tasty food. I think we owe this to every single citizen,” he said.