Tumakuru, Jan 22 Karnataka Leader of the Opposition (LoP) R. Ashoka slammed the state government on Wednesday, saying that it is planning to borrow Rs 1 lakh crore in this budget again.
Speaking to reporters, he mentioned that the Secretary of the Finance Department has stated there has been a 20 per cent decline in government revenue.
“The government plans to borrow Rs 1 lakh crore in this budget. During the BJP's tenure, surplus budgets were achieved without taking loans. Since Congress has come to power, Karnataka has turned into a debt-ridden state. They are taking the state towards a situation where it will have to beg like Kerala,” he claimed.
He also claimed that Siddaramaiah is an outgoing Chief Minister who does not have any concerns, adding that some MLAs have threatened suicide due to the lack of grants.
“This issue has reportedly led to arguments within Congress meetings,” he said.
He alleged that no developmental work has taken place under the Congress government, with even Congress MLAs admitting this fact while criminal activities such as bank robberies, slashing udders of cows, and rapes continue unabated.
“Despite all this, questions arise about where the money for the Belagavi convention for the Congress government to hold ‘Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhan’ came from,” he said.
He claimed that funds collected through corruption were used for the convention.
“Now, by hiking prices, the government has placed an additional burden on the people. Initially, they said no taxes would be imposed, but later, they placed the burden squarely on the people’s shoulders,” he said.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has picked Harvard alumnus Ritesh Kumar Singh to head the Finance Department ahead of the 2025-26 Budget.
Sources said that the state government is in a dilemma considering the expenditure on five guarantee schemes considered the flagship programmes of the Congress party at the national level.
However, the Congress legislators and ministers are in favour of the allocation of funds for the development, infrastructure spending and development of Bengaluru and major cities in the state.
Sources said that Siddaramaiah is all set to present the 2025-26 budget in March is expected to touch Rs 4 lakh crores. It will be Siddaramaiah’s 16th budget as the Finance Minister.
Siddaramaiah had presented a Rs 3.71 lakh crore budget for 2024-25. The state government is spending Rs 52,000 crore every year for the five guarantee schemes.
--IANS
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