Congress Govt failed to fulfil promises made by Rahul Gandhi to fishermen; MLA Vedavyas Kamath

Congress Govt failed to fulfil promises made by Rahul Gandhi to fishermen; MLA Vedavyas Kamath

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, Oct 8, 2023: Mangaluru City South MLA D. Vedavyas Kamath, on Saturday, expressed his disappointment with the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government, stating that in the past four months, they have not delivered on any of the commitments made by former Congress president Rahul Gandhi to fishermen during the Assembly election campaign.

Speaking to reporters, Mr. Kamath recounted that during an election rally at Uchila in Udupi, Mr. Gandhi had pledged Rs 10 lakh in life insurance coverage for each fisherman. He also promised to provide 500 liters of diesel per day to fishermen at a subsidized rate of Rs 25 per liter, along with the introduction of sea ambulances for the rescue of fishermen stranded at sea. However, none of the promises have been fulfilled by the government yet, even after four months,” Kamath said.

The government in its first budget had announced interest-free loans to the tune of Rs 3 lakh to fisherwomen in the state. However, none of the fishermen in the coastal districts have received the benefit of the scheme, he said. “Let the Congress release proof to show their contribution towards the welfare of fishermen in the coastal region. The Congress government has cut sanctions for many schemes that the previous BJP government implemented. Further, they have not implemented any new schemes for fishermen. Fishermen in the coastal districts have received benefits to the tune of Rs 16.8 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana of the central government. A larger comparison of budgets presented by the previous and present governments will explain the real concern of the BJP towards fishermen, and the injustice meted out to the community during the Congress tenure,” the MLA said.

He added that the BJP government had earmarked Rs 40 crore to extend financial aid of Rs 50,000 each to fishermen to buy boat engines in the budget announced in February 2023. However, the Congress government has sanctioned only Rs 20 crore in its budget, he added.

Mayor Sudheer Shetty Kannur and former chairman of the Karnataka Fisheries Development Corporation Nithin Kumar and others present at the press conference.