Centre denying Karnataka its rightful share: CM Siddaramaiah on expectations from Union Budget

Mysuru (Karnataka), Jan 31 (IANS) Reacting to questions about his expectations from the Union Budget, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday accused the Centre of denying the state its rightful share and of not allocating the funds announced for Karnataka. 

Speaking to reporters in Mysuru, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah stated, “In the 2023-24 Union Budget, Rs 5,300 crore was allocated for the Upper Bhadra Project, but not a single rupee has been released so far.”

Additionally, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) funding has been slashed by 58 per cent.

Last year, NABARD allocated Rs 5,800 crore, but this year it has been reduced to Rs 2,345 crore.

Despite Karnataka contributing Rs 4 lakh crore in taxes to the Central government, the state receives only Rs 60,000 crore in return. He claimed that the Centre is being unfair in tax devolution.

When asked about Karnataka BJP President, B.Y. Vijayendra’s statement that those criticising the Kumbh Mela after the deadly stampede are ‘unworthy’, CM Siddaramaiah responded that everyone has the right to criticise when something is wrong and dismissed Vijayendra's remarks as childish.

Reacting to the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) report on the MUDA case, he stated that the report was politically motivated and there was no evidence of money laundering.

The Karnataka High Court has ruled that the ED’s actions against former MUDA Commissioner Natesh were illegal and that there was no money laundering involved.

“By selectively releasing the ED report to the media, an intentional attempt is being made to politicise the issue and damage the reputation of the government and the Chief Minister,” he said.

When asked whether the MUDA case was being used to defame him, Siddaramaiah said that since he is the Chief Minister of Karnataka, attempts are being made to tarnish his image.

He said that such actions were being taken with the malicious intent of damaging his reputation, but “they will not succeed.”

Responding to a question about whether he would complete a full five-year term as Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah said that the final decision rests with the party's senior leaders. He clarified that there is no political motive behind the party leaders' meetings and dismissed baseless speculations as incorrect.