Contractors' Association's allegations: BJP's Ashoka demands Siddaramaiah's resignation
Bengaluru (PTI): Senior BJP leader R Ashoka on Tuesday demanded the immediate resignation of Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the wake of the State Contractors' Association's allegations about corruption in the Congress government.
Calling the Siddaramaiah administration an "80 per cent commission government", the Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly said Karnataka cannot afford this "brazenly corrupt" Congress regime anymore.
Karnataka State Contractors' Association (KSCA) had last week written to Siddaramaiah alleging that commission for clearing payments in several departments under the current Congress government has "doubled" compared with the previous BJP regime.
It accused the state government of failing to release long-pending dues of contractors for nearly two years.
The '40 per cent commission' allegation by KSCA had rocked state politics and became a major poll plank for the Congress to wrest power from the BJP in 2023 Assembly polls.
"Karnataka Contractors expose Congress corruption! When in Opposition, Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar (Deputy CM) shouted about 40 percent commission. Today, under their rule, contractors themselves have exposed that the rate has doubled - Karnataka has become an 80 percent commission government!", Ashoka posted on 'X'.
He questioned why the ministers are not coming forward to deny the charges.
He further asked, "Why is the CM silent when the state's reputation is being dragged through the mud? Why are projects like Bidadi Township being used as a pretext for illicit real estate deals and acquisition of fertile farmers' land?"
"This is the height of betrayal. Instead of transparency, Congress has delivered harassment, loot, and backdoor corruption. If CM Siddaramaiah has even a shred of dignity left, he must resign immediately," Ashoka posted, adding "#80PercentSarkara #ResignCM"
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Gross GST collections rise 6.2 pc to over Rs 1.93 lakh cr in January
New Delhi (PTI): Gross GST collections rose 6.2 per cent to over Rs 1.93 lakh crore in January, mainly on higher revenues from imports, sources said on Sunday.
Total refunds declined 3.1 per cent to Rs 22,665 crore.
Net Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenues, however, grew 7.6 per cent to about Rs 1.71 lakh crore in January.
Cess collection (from tobacco products) in January stood at Rs 5,768 crore. This compares to Rs 13,009 crore in collections in January last year when a cess was levied on luxury, sin and demerit goods such as cars, and tobacco products.
Effective September 22, 2025, GST rates on about 375 items were slashed, making goods cheaper. Also, a compensation cess is levied only on tobacco and related products, as opposed to luxury, sin and demerit goods earlier. The lowering of GST rates has impacted revenue collections.
Gross tax collections from domestic transactions grew 4.8 per cent to Rs 1.41 lakh crore, while import revenues were up 10.1 per cent to Rs 52,253 crore in January.
