Karnataka budget makes fuel, liquor, power costly
Bengaluru, July 5: Petrol, diesel, liquor and power will soon be costly in Karnataka as the budget for 2018-19 on Thursday proposed higher levies on them to generate additional resources.
"I propose to increase tax on petrol and diesel by 2 per cent, (levy) additional excise duty on Indian made liquor brands (at) 4 per cent, tax on captive power (by) 20 paise per unit and motor vehicle tax on commercial vehicles (by) 50 per cent," Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy said in his budget speech.
Presenting his maiden budget, Kumaraswamy, who holds the Finance portfolio, told the legislators that he was increasing the levies to generate more revenue and reduce the burden of Rs 34,000 crore worth crop loan waiver on the exchequer.
The 2 per cent hike in the sales tax on petrol to 32 per cent from 30 per cent will increase its price by Rs 1.14 per litre.
Similarly, 2 per cent hike in sales tax on diesel to 21 per cent from 19 per cent will increase its price by Rs 1.12 per litre.
Incidentally, the state-run oil marketing firms increased the fuel prices on Thursday due to rise in international rates and a weakening rupee.
Following the hike, petrol in Bengaluru on Thursday was Rs 76.94 per litre and diesel Rs 68.47 per litre.
The revised excise revenue target will be Rs 19,750 crore as against Rs 18,750 crore set in the provisional budget presented by the previous Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, of the Congress, on February 16 for this fiscal.
Similarly, the state will generate Rs 6,656 crore from the revised motor vehicle tax proposal.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
