‘Working hard to revive Karnataka’s economy after BJP’s mismanagement’: Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], February 22 (ANI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday hit back at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders who criticised the state's economy under his leadership, saying he is working diligently to bring the economy back on track after the previous BJP government's mismanagement.
"The reality is that during the BJP's rule, the state's economy was pushed to the brink of collapse," Siddaramaiah said in a statement.
"Now, while sitting in the opposition, they are speaking as if they are great economists. Our government is working hard to bring the state's economy back on track after the mismanagement and chaos caused by the BJP's irresponsible financial policies. It is unfortunate that the BJP cannot accept or understand this," he added.
The chief minister said that the BJP government took up projects worth seven times more than the budget allocated.
"As of March 31, 2023, they left behind unpaid bills worth RS. 2,70,695 crore for key departments like Public Works, Minor Irrigation, Water Resources, Urban Development, Rural Development, and Housing. They also approved projects worth RS. 1,66,426 crore under the Chief Minister's discretionary fund. Can such financial mismanagement, irresponsibility, and corruption be fixed in just a few years?" Siddaramaiah said.
He alleged that despite the BJP-led central government under Narendra Modi "exploiting Karnataka's resources", the state BJP leaders remained silent. This is akin to a lamb being skinned alive while it continues to graze, oblivious to its plight, he said.
"The central government stopped compensating the state for GST losses, causing an annual revenue loss of Rs 18,000-20,000 crore. However, they continued collecting taxes from the people," the chief minister said.
He alleged that the Modi government had done great injustice to Karnataka in tax devolution. In 2018-19, when the central budget was RS. 24.42 lakh crore, Karnataka received RS. 35,895 crore as its share.
"Now, with the central budget at RS. 50.65 lakh crore, Karnataka is expected to receive only RS. 51,000 crore. Compared to 2018, we should have received at least RS. 73,000 crore. This alone causes an annual loss of RS. 22,000 crore to the state. The central government collects over RS. 4.5 lakh crore in taxes from Karnataka but gives back only a fraction. Has the BJP ever spoken about this?" he said.
Due to the poor implementation of GST since 2017, the central government's refusal to share cess and surcharges as recommended by the 15th Finance Commission, and the failure to release RS. 5,300 crore for the Bhadra Upper Bank project, Karnataka has lost over RS. 2.1 lakh crore. The BJP has never spoken about this, the chief minister alleged.
"Our average budget growth over the last two years is 18.3%, compared to just 5% during the BJP's four-year rule. The state's own tax revenue growth is 15%, compared to 11% during the BJP's tenure," he said.
The chief minister said that his government is providing over RS. 90,000 crore annually directly to the people through DBT and subsidies, including RS. 10,400 crore for senior citizens, disabled persons, widows, and others. The central government contributes only RS. 450 crore, the same as during Manmohan Singh's tenure. "What has the BJP done for Karnataka?," Siddaramaiah asked.
"Our fiscal discipline is intact. The fiscal deficit is below 3%, and our total liabilities are within 25% of GSDP. During the BJP's rule, these were out of control. Our capital expenditure is better than neighbouring progressive states. Karnataka is spending 15.01% of its budget on capital expenditure, compared to Maharashtra (12.74%), Tamil Nadu (10.58%), and Telangana (11.58%)," the chief minister said. (ANI)