Free bus rides for women in Karnataka

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday said that there is no proposal before the government to revisit the 'Shakti' scheme, which provides free bus travel for all women domiciled in the state. The clarification came amid criticism over Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar indicating about revisiting the scheme. Facing backlash over his statement, Shivakumar on Thursday ruled out withdrawing or revisiting any of the five guarantee schemes including Shakti, and accused media and opposition parties of distorting his statement. “There is no such proposal before the government, he (Shivakumar) only said what some women are saying. I don't know, I was not there. I will speak,” Siddaramaiah said in response to a question regarding the Deputy CM's statement. Speaking to reporters here, the CM said: “there is no situation for revisiting it at the government level. There is no such intention, there is no such proposal.” Noting that many women had tweeted and reached out to him expressing their willingness to pay for the ride, Shivakumar, addressing an event on Wednesday, said: “let's see, we will all sit and discuss it. They are a section (of women), they may be 5-10 per cent. Let's see, some have honestly expressed they are ready to pay. Ramalinga Reddy (Transport Minister) and I -- we will discuss in the government, what to do.”