Karnataka Cong MLA H Y Meti no more, CM Siddaramaiah expresses grief
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Congress MLA from Bagalkote H Y Meti died at a private hospital here on Tuesday, party and hospital sources said.
He was 79 and was undergoing treatment for breathing issues and other age-related ailments, they said.
Meti, who was chairman for Bagalkote Urban Development Authority, is survived by two sons and two daughters.
They said his mortal remains will be taken to Bagalkote in the evening and last rites are likely to be performed on Wednesday afternoon.
Initially, Meti represented Guledgudda Assembly constituency in 1989, 1994 and 2004 as a Janata Dal member.
After getting elected in 1994, he served as the Forest Minister. He was also elected as MP from Bagalkote in 1996.
After delimitation of constituencies, he had contested in 2008 from Bagalkote on a Congress ticket, but lost.
He won in 2013 and served as Excise Minister in the then Siddaramiah-led Congress government, but lost in 2018.
He was considered to be among the close associates of Chief Minister Siddaramiah.
Siddaramaiah visited the hospital to pay his last respects to Meti.
Expressing grief over Meti's death, the CM said, "I had visited the hospital last Thursday and inquired about his health. I was hopeful that he would recover and join us again. Both my hopes and wishes have been dashed."
"Meti, who was in public life for a long time, was a politician who was pro-people and only concerned about the development of the constituency. The society has become poorer with his demise," he posted on 'X'.
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CM launches poster campaign 'Justice for Karnataka'
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday released nine posters as part of a campaign: ‘Justice for Karnataka. Fair Share–Strong Federalism’ asking the Centre to heed state's demands.
These posters highlight key demands placed before the Finance Commission: Restoring Karnataka’s fair tax share; correcting unjust income, population and GSDP criteria; ensuring fair disaster and ecological support; strengthening decentralisation; providing dedicated infrastructure support for Bengaluru; supporting backward regions like Kalyana Karnataka; and upholding the constitutional spirit of cooperative federalism, Siddaramaiah said.
In a statement, Siddaramaiah said his government has placed its legitimate and constitutionally grounded demands before the 16th Finance Commission, seeking justice in tax devolution and fiscal federalism.
“We hope that the 16th Finance Commission reflects these concerns fairly in its recommendations, and that the Union Government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi implements them in letter and spirit, without subjecting Karnataka to petty politics or discrimination, as has unfortunately happened in the past,” the chief minister said.
Siddaramaiah underlined that Karnataka is among the country’s highest contributors to national revenues, yet its share in tax devolution was earlier reduced from 4.71 per cent to 3.64 per cent causing a loss of nearly Rs 80,000 crore.
"Flawed formulas that penalise development and population control, unrealistic GSDP calculations, inadequate disaster support, unchecked cesses and surcharges, denial of GST compensation, and non-release of recommended grants have collectively weakened the state’s finances," Siddaramaiah charged.
