Nirmala Sitharaman has done injustice to Karnataka, says CM Siddaramaiah on budget
Bengaluru, Jul 23: Terming the Union Budget 2024-25 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as "disappointing", Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the State has been totally neglected.
"As Nirmala Sitharaman is the Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka, we had expected her to do justice for the state and hoped that she would protect the interest of the state, but she has disappointed and done injustice to the people of Karnataka," he said.
"In this budget Nirmala Sitharaman has given Karnataka 'Chombu' (a small, round water container). Karnataka has got nothing. Andhra Pradesh and Bihar got special grants, no other states have got grants. Because for Nandra Modi Modi to continue as Prime Minister Andhra Pradesh and Bihar's support is required," Siddaramaiah said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said no impetus has been given to Karnataka in this budget including in sectors like industries and railways, despite five central ministers being from the state.
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"The budget is totally disappointing and anti-people. Injustice has been done specially to SC/STs, farmers. In order to keep Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar (happy) special grants have been given to Andhra Pradesh and Bihar....There are 28 states and eight union territories, ours is a federal state, but Karnataka has totally been neglected," he said, adding that except Andhra Pradesh no state from South India has got anything.
Noting that in the pre-budget discussion that was attended by Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda on his behalf, the state had made certain requests and none of them have been met, the Chief Minister said a Rs 5,495 crore special grant was recommended to the state by the 15th Finance Commission.
It was promised that Rs 6,000 crore will be given for peripheral ring road and development of water bodies, but it has not been given, he further said. "We had also sought for an increase in disaster relief and that too has not been given. For the Upper Bhadra project the FM had herself in the last budget had said Rs 5,300 crore will be given, it has not been given, we will ask for it."
The state's demands on urban and rural housing schemes, and matching grants for backward areas development have not been met, and so does the demand for establishing an All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Raichur, which is a backward area, he added.
There is nothing useful for the middle class in the budget, in terms of Income Tax, he said. The state's fight "our tax, our right" will continue. "The 16th Finance Commission is coming to Karnataka on August 28, we will represent our case vehemently before the commission."
Dubbing it as a "save-the-government" budget, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said Nirmala Sitharaman has disappointed the people of Karnataka.
"This budget by Nirmala Sitharaman is an attempt to save the NDA government at the Centre. It focuses solely on appeasing its crucial alliance partners from Bihar and Andhra Pradesh. The budget has ignored states ruled by the INDI Alliance. It is a budget for the NDA alliance and it is condemnable," he said.
"The world is looking at India through Bengaluru. Karnataka and Bengaluru have created a name for themselves at the global stage. I was hopeful that Nirmala Sitharaman, who represents Karnataka, would protect the interests of the state by allocating funds for infrastructure development and for pending projects, but nothing has been done," Shivakumar added.
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UDF leaders see local body poll trends as pointer to 2026 Assembly elections in Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Buoyed by the strong performance of the Congress-led UDF in the local body polls, KPCC president Sunny Joseph said on Saturday that the front's results indicated the people had rejected the LDF government.
According to early trends, the UDF was leading in more grama panchayats, block panchayats, municipalities and corporations than the LDF.
The local body polls were held in two phases in the state earlier this week.
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Speaking to reporters here, Joseph said the people of Kerala had extended their support to the UDF.
"We could expose the LDF government’s anti-people stance and the people understood it. The LDF’s fake propaganda was rejected by the people. The UDF is moving towards a historic victory," he said.
He said a united effort, proper preparations, good candidate selection and hard work had resulted in the Congress and the UDF’s victory in the elections.
Asked about the prospects in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, Joseph said the party was studying the matter and would comment later.
LDF convenor T P Ramakrishnan said the results would be closely examined.
According to him, the government had done everything possible for the people.
"Why such a verdict happened will be examined at the micro level. People’s opinion will be considered and further steps will be taken," he said.
He added that decisions would be taken after analysing the results. "If any corrective measures are required, we will initiate them and move forward," he said.
AICC leader K C Venugopal said the results showed that people had begun ousting those who, he alleged, were responsible for the loss of gold at Lord Ayyappa’s temple.
"This trend will continue in the Assembly elections as well. It is an indication that the people are ready to bring down the LDF government," he said.
Venugopal said the UDF had registered victories even in CPI(M) and LDF strongholds.
"I congratulate all UDF workers for their hard work. Congress workers and leaders worked unitedly," he said.
Referring to remarks made by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan against the Congress on polling day, Venugopal said the voters had responded through the verdict.
"I do not know whether the chief minister understands that the people are against him. Otherwise, he does not know the sentiment of the people. The state government cannot move an inch further," he said.
He said the results indicated a strong comeback for the UDF in Kerala.
Asked whether the Sabarimala gold loss issue had affected the LDF in the local polls, Venugopal said the CM and the CPI(M) state secretary did not take the issue seriously.
"We took a strong stand on the matter. The BJP played a foul game in it," he alleged.
On the BJP's role in the local body elections, Venugopal alleged that the party operated with the CPI(M) 's tacit support.
"The CPI(M) supported the central government on issues such as PM-SHRI, labour codes and corruption in national highway construction. The CPI(M) is facing ideological decline, and the state government’s policies are against the party’s own decisions," he said.
Meanwhile, LDF ally Kerala Congress (M) leader Jose K Mani said the party could not win all the wards it had expected in the elections.
He congratulated winners from all parties and said the party would closely examine the losses and identify shortcomings. "Later, we will take corrective measures," he added.
Senior Congress leader and MP Rajmohan Unnithan said the trends in the local body elections indicated that the UDF would return to power in the 2026 Assembly elections.
"We will win 111 seats as in 1977 and return to power in 2026. The anti-government sentiment of the people is reflected in the elections," he said.
Unnithan said the people were disturbed and unhappy with the present government.
"The trend indicates the end of the LDF government," he added.
CPI(M) MLA M M Mani said the people had shown ingratitude towards the LDF despite benefiting from welfare schemes.
"After receiving all welfare schemes and living comfortably, people voted against us due to some temporary sentiments. Is that not ingratitude," he asked.
Mani said no such welfare initiatives had taken place in Kerala earlier.
"People are receiving pensions and have enough to eat. Even after getting all this, they voted against us. This is what can be called ingratitude," he said.
Muslim League state president Panakkad Sayyid Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal said the results were beyond expectations.
"The outcome points towards the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram, indicating that a change of government is imminent. We are going to win the Assembly election," he said.
