Mandya/Bengaluru: In a rare personal gesture, Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy donated his entire MP salary to clear the pending wages of teachers at Mandya’s historic MySugar School, who had gone over 15 months without pay.
Fulfilling the promise he made during his earlier visit, Kumaraswamy handed over a cheque of ₹19,94,200 to the school management on Saturday, drawing emotional gratitude from teachers.
“Working without salary is painful — I kept my word,” says Kumaraswamy
Addressing teachers, the minister said:
“I know how difficult it is to work without pay. I had promised to stand by you, and today I have kept that promise.”
Calling MySugar School a historical institution that shaped Mandya’s identity, Kumaraswamy said the school must be saved at any cost.
He urged the Karnataka government to intervene and ensure the school functions up to the PUC level.
Plans for revival: discussion with Adichunchanagiri Mutt
Kumaraswamy said he had already spoken to the Adichunchanagiri seer about long-term development of the school.
“I won’t promise overnight miracles. But step by step, we will revive this institution,” he declared, adding that MySugar School should become the No.1 school in Mandya.
He also promised support for:
- Two school buses
- Free education from LKG to PUC
- Collaborative development with the Mutt after the Parliament session
“Teachers continued educating children despite crisis — they deserve respect”
Kumaraswamy praised the teachers for continuing classes despite not receiving salaries for over a year.
“Stop blaming the Centre — fix your own house first”
Hitting out at the Congress government, Kumaraswamy alleged:
“For one year, the state has not released funds even for essential projects. Yet they run big advertisements and take credit for works funded earlier by our government.”
He recounted how Karnataka failed to release ₹1 crore for women’s toilets requested during the Governor’s visit to Karkala.
MSP Crisis: “Open procurement centres first”
On MSP-related protests, he said:
“It is the state’s responsibility to open procurement centres. Only then ask the Centre for support. When I was CM, I did not run to court for funds.”
He added that during Siddaramaiah’s earlier term as CM, he (Kumaraswamy) had cleared ₹4,500 crore of state loans, whereas the current government has not cleared old dues.
Expensive Watches Row
On media questions about expensive watches worn by the CM and DCM:
“The cost of the watch is not the issue — how they bought it is what matters,” Kumaraswamy said.
Lokayukta Corruption Remark: “What is the point?”
Reacting sharply to the Lokayukta’s claim that 63% of government departments are corrupt, Kumaraswamy said:
“Is his job only to make statements to the media? Has he collected documents? Has he taken action? If corruption exists and he only speaks, what is the use?”
He questioned the state government’s defence that the remarks referred to corruption in 2019.
“They have ruled for three years now. Where is the report on their so-called clean governance?”
ಇದನ್ನೂ ಓದಿ: 15 ತಿಂಗಳು ವೇತನವಿಲ್ಲದೆ ಹೋರಾಡಿದ ಮೈಶುಗರ್ ಶಿಕ್ಷಕರ ನೆರವಿಗೆ ಹೆಚ್.ಡಿ. ಕುಮಾರಸ್ವಾಮಿ — ಸಂಸದರ ವೇತನವೇ ದೇಣಿಗೆ
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