“IF THE RULE OF LAW IS HINDUTVA, I DON’T MIND IT”

Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai spoke to Group Editorial Director Raj Chengappa on the achievements and challenges of his one year in the saddle. Excerpts:

Q.You had vast political experience, including being a minister in the past. You are also the son of a former chief minister of the state. What was the novelty of the challenge you faced as chief minister, and in your approach to the task?

Right from the first day of my political career, I had to make a choice between people politics and power politics. I felt that I should do people politics because power is only a byproduct of it. I have been associating with people’s causes and struggles, and I love to be with them. Being chief minister is vastly different and is a huge responsibility with all kinds of challenges. Even the last man in the queue should feel that this government is for him. People’s aspirations are so high that you need a highoctane performance to meet them.

Q. In the past year that you have been chief minister, what are the three or four things you have achieved?

The first thing is whenever people are in distress, the government has stood by them. Just to give you some examples, when there were huge floods, not only did I visit these places but, apart from rescue efforts, we also provided them with huge relief...much more than the norm. We also doubled relief to farmers and gave Rs 1,600 crore to them. We have already given over five lakh houses to the needy. Secondly, the entire development approach where we have carved out over 100 aspirational talukas, and whatever imbalances are there, I want to set them right, especially concerning education, health, and maternal and child welfare. Thirdly, we have focused on education as a highway of prosperity, and I have introduced scholarships for girls from the 8th standard and for boys from pre-university onwards.