Karnataka Congress slams state govt's proposal to rename Indira Canteens

BENGALURU: The Karnataka Congress has slammed the ruling BJP for proposing to rename Indira Canteens as ‘Maharshi Valmiki Anna Kuteera.’

In a tweet on Tuesday, the state Congress advised Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa to launch new programmes in the name of Maharshi Valmiki but not rechristen Indira Canteens. “If you lack ideas and knowledge to introduce pro-people programmes, you can seek the help of the Congress leaders. But do not change the name of Indira Gandhi who sacrificed her life for the country. You will face the public wrath,” posted the state Congress twitter handle.

Further, it said that only those who are incompetent to implement welfare programmes are capable of doing hate politics.


The reaction was in response to Revenue Minister R Ashoka’s statement earlier during the day that the Karnataka government was planning to rename Indira Canteens as ‘Maharshi Valmiki Anna Kuteera’ on the request of former minister Raju Gowda. “Decision will be taken after consulting the chief minister,” Ashoka said.

Maharshi Valmiki who wrote Ramayana is revered by Scheduled Tribe’s Valmiki community which is in a large number in the state. Health Minister B Sriramulu who too is from the same community welcomed the proposal and said that he was happy that Indira Canteen were renamed after Valmiki.

Indira Canteens launched during the Congress government was the pet project of former chief minister Siddaramaiah. These canteens provide food to the poor all three times a day at a subsidised price. There are about 260 Indira Canteens in Karnataka majority of which are located in Bengaluru.