Budget failed to meet expectations of farmers, women and public: Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru, Feb 1: Former Karnataka chief minister and Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the Union budget failed to meet the expectations of farmers, women and people at large.
"I did not have much expectations from this budget but the country's farmers, women, and the general public were expecting more. Their expectation has gone in vain," Siddaramaiah, who is Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, said reacting to the Union budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
The Congress leader said he had expected announcements of some special programmes to promote health, education and agriculture in particular which "did not happen".
According to Siddaramaiah, a budget should be something that addresses problems such as hunger, poverty, unemployment but there were no signs of any steps taken in this direction.
Accusing the government at the Centre of being pro-corporate, he said the reduction in taxes on corporate bodies will result in more taxes on ordinary citizens.
Siddaramaiah pointed out that the budget estimates that GDP growth will slow down over the next year from 9.2 per cent to eight per cent.
The subsidy money for farmers' fertilisers was 1.40 lakh crore this year which has been reduced to 1.05 lakh crore in the next fiscal, Siddaramaiah said. He predicted that this will increase the cost of fertiliser.
Speaking about Bengaluru, he said there was no allocation for the much-awaited suburban railway project in the city.
Siddaramaiah also charged the Basavaraj Bommai government in Karnataka with failing to bring grants to the State.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
