MYSURU: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah criticised Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman over the Union Budget presented by her in Parliament, he also accused the Finance minister of lying, claiming that she had said the Centre owes no dues to the state.
Siddaramaiah questioned the absence of a grant for the Upper Bhadra Project in the Budget.”They had called a pre-budget meeting, where we asked the centre to provide grants of Rs 5,300 crore for the Upper Bhadra Project, which was announced by themselves. Is it there in the budget?” he questioned.
On special grants to Karnataka, Siddaramaiah said, “The 15th Finance Commission (FC) had recommended providing special grants of Rs 5,495 crore. Is it there in the budget?”
“They had said they would give Rs 3,000 crore for the Peripheral Ring Road. Is it there in the budget? They had also said they would give Rs 3,000 crore for water bodies development. Is it there in the budget?” he continued.
The Chief Minister said that despite the Union Finance Minister being a Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka and former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy being a Union Minister, noting much was promised for the state in the Budget.
“The Centre gave grants to Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. What did they give to Karnataka? Union Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and HD Kumaraswamy could have at least assured us. Sitharaman is a Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka. Kumaraswamy is the Union Minister for Steel and Heavy Industries. Has any new industry come up in Mandya? Have we at least got an industrial corridor? They have neither announced Mekedatu nor honoured the grants we demanded,” Siddaramaiah said.
On no mention of AIIMS or IIT in the state, as Karnataka had earlier demanded, the Chief Minister said, “We had demanded an All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) for Raichur. Has there been any mention of it? We had sought an Indian Institute of Technology either in Mysuru or Hassan. Has it been sanctioned? What have they given?”
Hitting out at the Finance Minister, Siddaramaiah said, “When Nirmala Sitharaman came last time, she lied. She is lying even now. They claim that they have given so many grants to the state. According to the 15th Finance Commission, Karnataka is the most affected state.”
The Chief Minister claimed that industries have been fleeing from Karnataka owing to the policies rolled out by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
“She claimed that industries are fleeing from Karnataka. In reality, the FDI investments in our country have gone down by 31 per cent. Why was there a drop? It is because of their policies. It is none other than Nirmala Sitharaman who rolls out policies,” Siddaramaiah said.
The Chief Minister questioned that despite being the second-highest tax grosser, how much more should the state contribute?
“Karnataka is the second-highest tax grosser, following Maharashtra. What more contributions should we make? That is why we have boycotted the NITIAayog meeting. It is not just Karnataka.
Even Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and other non-BJP-ruled states did not participate,” Siddaramaiah said adding, “Mamata Banerjee took part but walked out as she was not given time to express herself.”
Earlier on July 18, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman lashed out at the Congress-led Karnataka government for alleging that the central government has not allocated ample funds for the state. She also targeted the state government for not being able to control its inflation, which is currently above the national average.
Central transfers to Karnataka have increased substantially under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, Sitharaman said at a post-budget presser in Bengaluru, outlining some of the key figures.Between 2004 and 2014, when the UPA government was in power at the Centre, she said Karnataka received only Rs 81,791 crores as tax devolution over that decade. However, between 2014 and 2024, under PM Modi, she said Karnataka received Rs 2,95,818 crores.
She further said Karnataka received Rs 60,779 crores as Grants-in-Aid from 2004-14 under UPA. On the other hand, the state received Rs 2,39,955 crores as Grants-in-Aid from 2014-24.She added Rs 45,485 crore has been budgeted as Tax Devolution for Karnataka in the financial year 2024-25. (ANI)