Siddaramaiah urges K’taka leaders, including Sitharaman, Pralhad Joshi to join ‘Chalo Delhi’ protest

BENGALURU: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said that he has written a letter to all the leaders elected from the southern state including Union Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Pralhad Joshi to join the ‘Chalo Delhi’ protest over the tax devolution and grants-in-aid to the state.

The Chief Minister has also written a letter to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. The demonstration is scheduled for Wednesday at the Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.

“Union Finance Minister elected from Karnataka @nsitharaman Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha @kharge, Former Prime Ministers and Rajya Sabha Members @H_D_Devegowda, Union Minister elected from Karnataka @JoshiPralhad, @Rajeev_GoI, @ShobhaBJP, A. Narayanaswamy, former Chief Ministers. I have written a letter to all the dignitaries representing the country in Delhi, inviting them to participate in Chalo Delhi to be held tomorrow. It is not a fight against any party, it is a fight against injustice, discrimination in tax share and grant allocation by the central government in the union system. For the future of Karnataka, for the peaceful life of the Kannadigas, tomorrow morning we have started a dharani satyagraha at Jantar Mantar in Delhi. It is the duty of all of us to convey the injustice being done to the Kannadigas to the Delhi government and ask for justice. I believe that all of you will forget your partisanship and join our voice for the benefit of Karnataka”, Siddaramaiah wrote in a post on X.

ದಿಲ್ಲಿಗೆ ಹೋಗೋಣ ನ್ಯಾಯ ಕೇಳೋಣ!
ಇದು ಕನ್ನಡಿಗರು ಹಾಗೂ ಕನ್ನಡ ನಾಡಿನ ಹಿತಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತಿರುವ ಪಕ್ಷಾತೀತ ಹೋರಾಟ. ಈ ಸತ್ಯಾಗ್ರಹದಲ್ಲಿ ಎಲ್ಲರೂ ಪಾಲ್ಗೊಳ್ಳಬೇಕೆಂದು ಮನವಿ ಮಾಡುತ್ತೇವೆ. https://t.co/laLhuPkXUs

— DK Shivakumar (@DKShivakumar) February 6, 2024

Earlier in the day, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, after holding a press conference on the matter at Vidhana Soudha, said that the planned protest is not against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and that all MLAs should forget party lines and participate.

“Let’s go to Delhi and seek justice! This is an ongoing non-partisan struggle for the benefit of Kannadigas and Kannada nation. We request everyone to participate in this satyagraha”, the Deputy CM posted on X.

Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Bengaluru South Tejasvi Surya has turned down the invite and said that he will address a press conference in the national capital to expose the Congress government in Karnataka. “I politely decline Karnataka CM Sri Siddaramaiah’s invitation to attend tomorrow’s faux protest. I will, however, address a press conference at New Delhi, to expose the devious, divisive & false propaganda of the CM & Congress with respect to tax devolution to Karnataka,” Surya wrote on his X handle.

Earlier on Monday, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the leader of Congress in Lok Sabha, said there is a general perception across the nation that the non-BJP states are being deprived of their legitimate dues. The latest example, he alleged, is Congress-ruled Karnataka.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, rubbishing the Congress leader’s charges, termed the allegations to be a “politically vitiated narrative” that is being propagated by some vested interest groups.

“Adhir ji, please understand I don’t have the right to change as per my whims and fancies, that I like a state or another state, it is against my party politics. No way, I have no role I would have to it follow rules 100 per cent, and that’s what I have done,” Sitharaman responded, as she explained the procedure of how devolution of taxes to the states is decided upon by the Finance Commission.

“Finance commission gives recommendations which I have to implement, it is done without any fear or favour or anything like that. So this apprehension that some states have been discriminated against is a politically vitiated narrative, which I am sorry to say, vested interests are happy to go about saying it. There is not just a possibility that any finance minister can intervene and say ‘I don’t like this state, stop payment’,” she added.

Devolution to the states happens in direct tax matters, as per the recommendations given by the Finance Commission. (ANI)