HAVERI: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said that he became the CM with the blessings of the people and expressed satisfaction over his administration.
“To remain in politics, one must have the blessings of the people. With their blessings, I have come this far, and I will remain in politics as long as I continue to receive their support. Moreover, I am satisfied with my administration,” Siddaramaiah told reporters in Haveri on Wednesday.
When asked if he will complete his full term, the CM left it to the decision of the Congress high command.
On the Centre’s tax devolution, the Chief Minister said, “We pay taxes amounting to Rs 4.5 lakh crore, but what we get back is only Rs 60,000-Rs 70,000 crore. For every one rupee we give, we get back only 14 paise from the Centre. It did not give Rs 5,300 crore for the Bhadra Upper Canal project,” he said, adding that the state could lose Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,000 crore with the reduction of the Goods and Service Tax (GST) rates for this year and could lose Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 crore yearly in the future.
Further claiming that injustice was being meted out to Karnataka by the Centre, the CM said, “The 15th Finance Commission had recommended providing Rs 5,495 crore to the state, but even that was not given. The Union Government did not give Rs 3,000 crore for the Peripheral Ring Road, nor Rs 3,000 crore for the development of Bengaluru lakes. It has given nothing”.
On BJP’s criticism that Siddaramaiah’s government has emptied the treasury, he said the saffron party leaders were experts at telling lies.
Responding to demands by Janardhan Reddy, Sriramulu, and others to hand over the Ballari firing case to the CBI, Siddaramaiah said that KPCC president DK Shivakumar visited the family of the deceased in Ballari on Tuesday and also held discussions. “The act of putting up a banner was provocative, which led to unrest in Ballari and resulted in the death of a person. BJP leaders were unable to tolerate their jealousy,” he said.
Replying to a query about the incident in Hubballi involving a woman stripping, the CM said that when police went to arrest the woman, she herself stripped and bit women police personnel. “An FIR has been registered against her. When the police went for an inquiry, she bit them. There were more than 10 women police personnel present. No one should take the law into their own hands. Legal action will be taken against those who do so,” he said.
The CM said that the Haveri Medical College has been completed at a cost of around Rs 500 crore. Siddaramaiah said that he had announced the college and inaugurated it as well. “Even though the BJP was in power for four years, it didn’t complete the construction. The Congress completed it after coming to power,” he said.