K'taka Home Minister Parameshwara says his statement was misunderstood, no dearth of funds in state
Bengaluru, Jun 24 (PTI): Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Tuesday clarified that there is no shortage of funds in the state government for any reason, and that his earlier statement has been misunderstood.
The senior Congress leader was clarifying the statement he made on Monday while addressing a gathering at Badami in Bagalkote district, where he had said that the state government doesn't have money. His comments were picked up by the media, and the opposition BJP too used it to target the government, alleging that the financial condition of the state has deteriorated.
"I have not said like that, who said there is no money? I have defended the government, saying that we have presented a record budget....as someone said things jokingly during the speech, I reacted in a similar fashion, that's all," Parameshwara told reporters here on Tuesday, when questioned about his statement.
Reiterating that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has presented a Rs 4.09 lakh crore budget, he said, "I have said that there is no shortage of funds. Rs 22,000 crore has been allocated for irrigation in the budget. Allocations have been made for the five guarantee schemes in the budget, and instructions have been made to prepare an action plan for Rs 50 crore in every constituency. I said all of this in my address. When someone said something jokingly, I might have reacted."
"I'm now saying officially that there is no financial distress in our government. I'm saying it very clearly. Sometimes, there may be a delay in the release of funds, as DPR and estimates have to be prepared before releasing money. There may be some delay in that; other than that, there is nothing else. There is no shortage of funds in our government for any reason. I'm making it clear. If anyone has misunderstood my statement, I'm correcting that," he added.
The Home Minister while addressing a gathering in Badami on Monday had suggested local MLA Bheemasen B Chimmanakatti to prepare a Rs 1,000 crore project for the development of the Badami town, which is of historical and archaeological importance, and send it to the centre, as the state doesn't have money.
"Prepare the project (for Badami's development) and send it to the Centre, we don't have money, Siddaramaiah doesn't have money now. We have given you (people) in the form of rice, pulses, oil," he had said.
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NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
