Basavaraj Bommai criticizes state Budget, calls it anti-people, disappointing
Bengaluru: Former Chief Minister and Member of Parliament Basavaraj Bommai has criticized the 2025-26 Karnataka state budget, presented by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, calling it anti-people and a financial burden on the common citizens.
In a press statement, Bommai alleged that the budget lacks measures for economic reform and empowerment while highlighting discrepancies between last year’s budget promises and actual implementation.
Bommai pointed out that the state's total revenue for the previous year was estimated at ₹3,68,674 crore, whereas this year, the revenue projection has dropped to ₹3,58,657 crore, marking a decline of ₹10,000 crore. Similarly, the total expenditure, which was ₹3,71,383 crore last year, has been reduced to ₹3,65,865 crore in the new budget, including cuts in capital expenditure. According to him, this indicates a slowdown in the state’s economic growth for 2024-25.
The former Chief Minister also raised concerns over the fiscal deficit, stating that the government has projected it at 2.95% of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), but in reality, it exceeds 3%, which he termed as mere financial adjustment. He further alleged that the state's total debt has now surged to ₹7,64,655 crore, accounting for nearly 25% of Karnataka’s GSDP, which he described as evidence of economic mismanagement.
Expressing disappointment over sector-wise allocations, Bommai said the government has slashed funds for key sectors. The education budget has been cut by 2%, while the allocation for the Women and Child Development Department has been reduced by 1%. He also criticized the lack of special funding for irrigation, rural development, and agriculture, calling it an "anti-farmer budget."
Additionally, Bommai accused the government of failing to take any bold steps to address regional imbalances. He claimed that the ₹5,000 crore allocated to the Kalyana Karnataka Region Development Board (KKRDB) was merely an eyewash, as the funds allocated in the previous budget had not been fully utilized. He added that the failure to announce any special financial assistance for the development of Kittur Karnataka was another letdown for the people of that region.
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Tipra Motha youth wing stages protest near Bangladesh Assistant High Commission
Agartala (PTI): Tipra Motha Party's youth wing on Friday staged a demonstration near the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission here to protest "anti-India campaign" and remarks made by a leader of the neighbouring country about the Northeast.
Security has been beefed up near the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in the wake of the protest staged by the Youth Tripra Federation (YTF).
"We want to remind anti-India forces in Bangladesh that it was India that liberated Bangladesh from the oppression of Pakistan Army... It took only 13 days to turn East Pakistan into a sovereign country," YTF president Suraj Debbarma told reporters.
The agitators also raised slogans against the present regime in Bangladesh.
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Tipra Motha supremo Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma, in an X post, said, "The only political party in Northeast to publicly protest outside the Bangladesh (Assistant) High Commission after statements were made against our Northeast is Tipra Motha and YTF. Wake up political rivals our real fight should be against the new mini Pakistan (Bangladesh), not each other."
During a rally in protest against the attack on prominent July Uprising leader Sharif Osman Hadi, who later succumbed to gunshot wounds, National Citizen Party (NCP) leader Hasnat Abdullah had threatened to split the seven sisters of the Northeast from India and provide shelter to separatist leaders of the region.
West Tripura Superintendent of Police (SP) Namit Pathak said that Tripura State Rifles (TSR) and CRPF personnel have been deployed to provide security to Bangladesh Assistant High Commission.
"Adequate security arrangements have been made to handle the situation," he said.
The protest brought back memories of last year, when hundreds of agitators had barged into the assistant high commission and the Centre had to tender an apology for the security breach.
Tension gripped Bangladesh on Friday after the death of Hadi triggered protests and violence in various parts of the country.
Hadi, a candidate in the scheduled February 12 general elections, died while undergoing treatment at a Singapore hospital after fighting for his life for six days. He was shot in the head last week by masked gunmen as he initiated his election campaign at central Dhaka's Bijoynagar area.
Protesters on Thursday took to the streets and attacked offices of newspapers and vandalised 32 Dhanmandi, the home of Bangladesh's founding father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Protesters also hurled bricks and stones at the residence of the Indian Assistant High Commissioner in Chattogram, at 1.30 am, but failed to cause any damage.
