Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Thursday clarified that there was no question of discontinuing any of the guarantee schemes including the Shakti scheme.

Speaking to reporters at the KPCC office, he said, “My statement has been twisted. I only said that many economically empowered women working in the IT sector and MNC companies have expressed interest in paying for the ticket. Many women have expressed that they would like to pay for the tickets as they get a conveyance allowance from their companies. I said that I would discuss this with the Transport Minister. I never said that the guarantee scheme would be stopped.”

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“There is absolutely no question of withdrawing any of the five guarantee schemes. But we can’t force the guarantee schemes down the throats of people who do not want it. Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a public appeal to voluntarily give up LPG subsidy. I only said that something similar could be done. As the KPCC President and the DCM, I reiterate that none of the schemes will be withdrawn at any cost. These schemes will continue not only for the next 3.5 years but also for 5 more years in the next term of the Congress government,” he stated.

When pointed out that the government may just allow some women to pay for the ticket if they wished to rather than revising the scheme, he said, “Don’t the transport employees need the permission of the government to do so? The conductors are hesitant to collect fares from women as the law states otherwise. Some may even allege later that the government is forcibly collecting fares from women. In this backdrop, we need to discuss the suggestions from women.”

Asked about Kumaraswamy’s statement that the state government was going bankrupt due to guarantee schemes, he said, “Kumaraswamy is unable to digest the success of the guarantee schemes. He is scared that people will reject his party.”