PIL in Karnataka High Court challenges appointments to Five Guarantees implementation panel

The Karnataka High Court on Thursday sought the State's response to a public interest litigation (PIL) that has questioned the appointment of Congress party workers to agencies set up to implement the Congress-led government's Five Guarantees [P Rajeev v. State of Karnataka and ors.]..A Bench of Chief Justice NV Anjaria and Justice MI Arun today observed that if the concerns raised by the petitioners are true, prima facie, it portrayed an unwelcome state of affairs.The Court proceeded to post the matter for further hearing on March 27. .The schemes in focus was part of the election manifesto (the 'Sarva Janangada Shanthiya Thota) floated by the Indian National Congress in 2023, and involves five guarantees, namely - (i) Gruha Jyothi (200 units of free electricity to all the houses); (ii) Gruha Lakshmi (₹2,000 every month to every woman head of the family); (iii) Anna Bhagya (food grains to every person in Below Poverty Line family per month); (iv) Yuvanidhi (financial support for unemployed youth); and (v) Shakti (free transport for women).In January 2024, the State announced the constitution of committees to implement these schemes at the state, district, taluka and Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) levels. In consequential orders passed the same year, the Court also indicated the remuneration to be paid to the members of such panels..In his writ petition, P Rajeev, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Member of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly (MLA), has questioned the validity of these State orders before the High Court.He has argued that Congress party workers who could not cut it in electoral politics and who do not have adequate educational or other qualifications have been made the President/Vice-Presidents/members of these implementing agencies. "The appointments of the private respondents for the post of the President and the Vice-President of the Implementation Committee has been made without having any regard to the educational or technical qualification and the said appointments are only made to extend the privileges to some of their party functionaries who could not make the cut to the electoral politics," Rajeev submitted, in his plea. .His counsel, Senior Advocate Aruna Shyam today argued that the President so appointed to the Implementation Committeе, HM Revanna, has also been arbitrarily granted Cabinet Rank by the State.Further, he argued that Vice-Presidents appointed to this body - SR Patil Bydagi, Dr. Pushpa Amarnath, Meharaj Khan and Suraj Hegde - have been granted Minister of State status without any basis. ."The bestowing of the cabinet status/rank to the President and the Vice President of the Implementation Committee of the guarantee scheme is irrational and unscientific and it nothing but a wastage of public money," added the plea through Advocate Suyog Herele. .[Read Live Coverage]