Hassan (Karnataka), Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was pleasantly surprised when a first-year law student presented him a garland made of free BU tickets.
The gesture was seen as a way of expressing gratitude to Siddaramaiah for launching the 'Shakti' guarantee scheme, one of the five key pre-poll promises of the Congress.
The scheme, launched in June last year, offers free travel to women in non-luxury government buses within the state.
According to transport department officials, since its launch, it has recorded 194.39 crore free rides, causing a loss of Rs 4,673.56 crore to the state exchequer.
MA Jayashree garlanded Siddaramaiah during an election campaign rally at Arsikere in this district on Monday evening.
“You allowed me to travel free in buses so that I could study law easily,” Jayashree said while offering garlands.
"So, I kept all the free tickets and made this garland. I have been waiting for the opportunity to present it to you for months. When I heard that you were coming to Arsikere today, I ran here with the garland in one breath. Came', Siddaramaiah was quoted as saying in a statement issued by his office.
The Chief Minister was overwhelmed by the gesture and also saw it as a "garland of achievements of our government".
In a post on 'X', he also tried to take a dig at the opponents of the guarantee schemes. “She wants to complete her law studies and serve the society as a lawyer and show the right path to those misguided people who accuse girls of going astray because of guarantee schemes.”
The gesture was seen as a way of expressing gratitude to Siddaramaiah for launching the 'Shakti' guarantee scheme, one of the five key pre-poll promises of the Congress.
The scheme, launched in June last year, offers free travel to women in non-luxury government buses within the state.
According to transport department officials, since its launch, it has recorded 194.39 crore free rides, causing a loss of Rs 4,673.56 crore to the state exchequer.
MA Jayashree garlanded Siddaramaiah during an election campaign rally at Arsikere in this district on Monday evening.
“You allowed me to travel free in buses so that I could study law easily,” Jayashree said while offering garlands.
"So, I kept all the free tickets and made this garland. I have been waiting for the opportunity to present it to you for months. When I heard that you were coming to Arsikere today, I ran here with the garland in one breath. Came', Siddaramaiah was quoted as saying in a statement issued by his office.
The Chief Minister was overwhelmed by the gesture and also saw it as a "garland of achievements of our government".
In a post on 'X', he also tried to take a dig at the opponents of the guarantee schemes. “She wants to complete her law studies and serve the society as a lawyer and show the right path to those misguided people who accuse girls of going astray because of guarantee schemes.”
