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Siddaramaiah accuses Nirmala Sitharaman of ‘lying' on budget allocation to Karnataka
Karnataka chief minister questioned the pre-budget promises made and lack of funds to various infrastructure projects in the state.
Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on Monday accused Union finance minister of “lying” about budget allocations to Karnataka and said that the BJP-led NDA government continues to mete out financial injustice to the state, reported news agency PTI.
He also alleged that the BJP was trying to portray Karnataka as a “corrupt state,” and everyone together should protest against the injustice meted out to the state.
“What has she (Sitharaman) given to say that no injustice has happened. Whenever Nirmala Sitharaman has come (to Karnataka), she has lied. She has lied in the past too, even now she is lying,” said Siddaramaiah. The chief minister was responding to comments by Sitharaman on Sunday where she dismissed the charge that Karnataka did not get its due share in the union budget this year.
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Siddaramaiah questioned the pre-budget promise of ₹5,300 crore made to Karnataka and the non-allocation of funds for various infrastructure projects like the Upper Bhadra project in the state. "The fifteenth finance commission in its report has recommended ₹5,495 crore as special grants, is it there? It was said that ₹3,000 crore will be given for the peripheral ring road (in Bengaluru). It was promised to give ₹3,000 crore for development of water bodies, is it there (in the budget)?" Siddaramaiah asked.
Siddaramaiah also cited grant allocations to NDA allied states like Andhra Pradesh and Bihar while questioning why Karnataka was not allocated the same. “Do you know Karnataka is the state that has faced most injustice in the fifteenth financial commission, despite her representing the state as the Rajya Sabha member?” the chief minister questioned before leaving for Delhi to meet the party's high command.
On allegations that the policies of the state government are driving industries away, the Karnataka CM claimed that the policies of Sitharaman are pushing down investments. “Do you know that there is a 31 per cent drop in FDI coming to the country, it is because of whom? It is because of policies and programmes; who makes policies and programmes? it is Mrs Nirmala Sitharaman, who is the finance minister of the country,” he said.
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He also questioned what states like Maharashtra and Karnataka have got in return from the budget for generating high tax revenues for the union government. Siddaramaiah also noted that several non-BJP ruled states have boycotted the NITI Aayog meeting and even West Bengal chief minister Mamata Bannerjee was “not given time to speak.”
On Sunday, Nirmala Sitharaman alleged that lot of misinformation is being spread about fund allocation to Karnataka. She blamed the policies of Congress government in Karnataka for keeping inflation remains above the national average in the state. The union finance minister also claimed that such policies have driven investors away and industries are scared to invest due to the poor law and order situation in the state.
