‘She Is Lying’: Siddaramaiah Alleges Karnataka Not Given Due Share In Union Budget By Nirmala Sitharaman

“What has she (Sitharaman) given to say that no injustice has happened. Whenever Nirmala Sitharaman has come (to Karnataka), she has lied. She has lied in the past too, even now she is lying,” said Siddaramaiah, as quoted by news agency PTI.

The chief minister was responding to comments by Sitharaman on Sunday where she dismissed the charge that Karnataka did not get its due share in the union budget this year.

Siddaramaiah questioned the pre-budget promise of Rs 5,300 crore made to Karnataka and the non-allocation of funds for various infrastructure projects like the Upper Bhadra project in the state. "The fifteenth finance commission in its report has recommended Rs 5,495 crore as special grants, is it there? It was said that Rs 3,000 crore will be given for the peripheral ring road (in Bengaluru). It was promised to give Rs 3,000 crore for development of water bodies, is it there (in the budget)?" Siddaramaiah asked.

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Siddaramaiah also cited grant allocations to NDA allied states like Andhra Pradesh and Bihar while questioning why Karnataka was not allocated the same. “Do you know Karnataka is the state that has faced most injustice in the fifteenth financial commission, despite her representing the state as the Rajya Sabha member?” the chief minister questioned before leaving for Delhi to meet the party's high command.

On allegations that the policies of the state government are driving industries away, the Karnataka CM claimed that the policies of Sitharaman are pushing down investments. “Do you know that there is a 31 per cent drop in FDI coming to the country, it is because of whom? It is because of policies and programmes; who makes policies and programmes? it is Mrs Nirmala Sitharaman, who is the finance minister of the country,” he said.

He also questioned what states like Maharashtra and Karnataka have got in return from the budget for generating high tax revenues for the union government.

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On Sunday, Nirmala Sitharaman alleged that lot of misinformation is being spread about fund allocation to Karnataka. She blamed the policies of Congress government in Karnataka for keeping inflation remains above the national average in the state. Meanwhile Opposition MPs from the INDIA bloc staged a protest in Parliament last week against the Union Budget. The bloc has termed the Budget as "discriminatory" against the opposition-ruled states.

The finance minister presented the Union Budget 2024-25 in the parliament on July 23, marking the first budget of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's third term. This budget focuses on nine priorities aimed at generating ample opportunities across various sectors.

(With Agency Inputs)