Continuous efforts being made to ensure K'taka gets fair tax share, says CM Siddaramaiah
Kodagu: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah revealed that the state government is making continuous efforts to ensure that the state was taking its fair tax share due. He was speaking to press persons at Bhagmandala here on Friday.
"The Central Budget is being presented tomorrow, but that doesn’t mean we have no expectations. Unfortunately, those expectations are falling short. The Central Government is acting deaf to our concerns. MLAs, MPs, and Ministers protested in Delhi over the reduction in grants for projects awarded to Karnataka. Despite the announcement of a ₹5,300 crore grant for the Bhadra Upper Bank Project in the Union Budget, not a single rupee has been released so far," Siddaramaiah said.
The Chief Minister also addressed concerns over rising human-wildlife conflicts, particularly in forested regions. "The number of elephants and leopards has increased in Karnataka, and due to food and water shortages, animals are entering human settlements. To tackle this, railway barricades are being installed, and all necessary measures will be taken to prevent further conflicts," he assured.
Additionally, Siddaramaiah mentioned that the committee responsible for reviewing the cleaning of the Cauvery River has yet to submit its report. "Once the report is presented, appropriate action will be taken," he concluded.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
