Bengaluru & Haveri: ” Our struggle is for financial decentralisation along with political decentralisation for Gram Panchayats. During my tenure, I provided higher grants to panchayats. Those who did not give funds to panchayats are the ones speaking about panchayat empowerment”, said former Chief Minister and Member of Parliament Basavaraj Bommai.
He was speaking today at a felicitation programme organised at Veerabhadreshwara Kalyana Mantapa in Haveri by the Sri Basavaraj Bommai Abhimani Balaga, on the occasion of the 66th birthday of former Karnataka Chief Minister and Haveri–Gadag Lok Sabha MP Sri Basavaraj Bommai.
Farmers, labourers, ex-servicemen, civic workers, and achievers from various fields were honoured at the event.
He said it was the blessings of his parents that shaped his life. It was his parents who introduced him to God and taught him values. His mother raised him with affection, while his father shaped his future. Even today, the memories of playing as a child in his mother’s lap remain deeply etched in his heart and can never be forgotten. Similarly, he still remembers how his father first took him to school.
He said it gave him immense happiness that former minister S.S. Patil, who shared a close association with his father, had come from Gadag to Haveri to extend his wishes. The entire Haveri district is like his family, with everyone being his brothers and sisters, and he expressed his gratitude for that affection. Today, he said, it is not just “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan” but also “Jai Karmik.” When he was Chief Minister, he had ordered that civic workers be addressed as “municipal employees.” During his tenure, he took several political and social decisions. He said it gave him great satisfaction that around 45,000 civic workers were regularised, and during his time, orders were issued to about 3,000 civic workers ensuring all kinds of facilities.
The former CM said farmers work continuously. Agricultural development has taken place, but the farmer remains where he was. He said he had introduced the Vidyanidhi scheme for farmers’ children, which gave him happiness, though he was disappointed that it was not continued. He felt satisfied that double compensation was provided during floods. Reinstating the Yashasvini scheme with an allocation of ₹300 crore, providing facilities to weavers and fishermen, and introducing a scheme to provide cochlear implants to poor children with hearing impairment gave him immense happiness. He said he had extended support to Gram Panchayats by increasing grants—₹1 crore to large panchayats, ₹60 lakh to medium panchayats, and ₹30 lakh to small panchayats. There is a lot of discussion about Gram Panchayats, he said, and those who have not given funds to panchayats speak the most. His struggle, he reiterated, is to ensure financial decentralisation along with political decentralisation for Gram Panchayats.
Expressing happiness over the large gathering, he said ex-servicemen not only protect the nation at all times but also serve the district. He announced a grant of ₹10 lakh for the building being constructed by ex-servicemen in Haveri.
Several supporters were present on the occasion. Prior to the programme, he visited the Veerabhadreshwara Temple and sought blessings.