"Have not come for any politics": Karnataka Dy CM DK Shivakumar in his Delhi visit amid rotational chief ministership speculations

"I have not come for any politics here; I have come just to meet Union Ministers regarding our state, for irrigation, and urban development. I don't want to comment on anything on other political issues which are not on the cards now," he emphasised, avoiding comments on other political matters.

This comes amid speculation about a rotational chief ministership. Rumours of a "two-and-a-half-year" power-sharing agreement have resurfaced as the government recently crossed the halfway mark of its term.

Shivakumar criticised the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, calling it "the beginning of the end".

He also claimed that the new funding pattern will make the scheme unworkable for states.

Speaking to the reporters in the national capital, Shivakumar said, "This is the beginning of the end. By changing Mahatma Gandhi's name, they wanted to kill this program. Which state government will give 40%? No state, including BJP-ruled states, can do this. This scheme will fail in the future... 40% is impossible for any state to provide..."

The Parliament passed the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill on December 18, and it received the President's assent on December 21.

The law guarantees 125 days of wage employment per rural household, up from the existing 100 days, for adult members willing to undertake unskilled manual work.

As per Section 22 of the law, the fund-sharing pattern between the Central Government and the State Governments will be 60:40, while for the North Eastern States, Himalayan States, and Union Territories (Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir), it will be 90:10. Section 6 of the law allows the state governments to notify in advance, a period aggregating to sixty days in a financial year, covering the peak agricultural seasons of sowing and harvesting. (ANI)