Only ‘khaali chombu’ for Karnataka, says CM Siddaramaiah

Siddaramaiah said states that oppose Manusmriti have been sidelined.
CM Siddaramaiah
CM Siddaramaiah
Updated on
2 min read

MYSURU : Terming the Union Budget most disappointing and lacklustre, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said that it has nothing for Karnataka.

He said the budget is directionless and lacks vision. The Union government gave a “chombu” (empty pot) for Karnataka, whereas it announced many projects for poll-bound Bihar. Special grants have been announced for Andhra Pradesh, which is with NDA. The Centre has ignored Karnataka though it is the second highest tax paying state.

He said states that oppose Manusmriti have been sidelined. The budget is anti-poor, anti-farmer, and anti-working class. Though five Union ministers — Nirmala Sitaraman, HD Kumaraswamy, V Somanna, Shobha Karandlaje and Prahlad Joshi — are from Karnataka, they have disappointed the people of the state. BJP MPs and ministers did not raise their voice against “injustice” in allocation of funds to the state.

He said during pre-budget meetings, Karnataka sought release of funds for the Upper Bhadra project announced in the previous budget, funds for the Upper Krishna project, Rs 5,000 crore for urban development, for AIIMS in Raichur, national highway and railway projects and for development of lakes and rajakaluves, but the Centre rejected the demand.

Siddaramaiah said Karnataka, which has the highest rain-fed area after Rajasthan, received no irrigation projects. The Centre did not increase the allocation for housing projects in urban pockets, though the state had requested it to do so.

Siddaramaiah criticised the Centre for cutting MGNREGA grants from Rs 89,154 crore to Rs 86,000 crore. Allocation for crop insurance has been reduced from Rs 15,864 crore in 2024-25 to Rs 12,242 crore in 2025-26, he said.

The cut in grants for the food security scheme indicated that the Centre is anti-poor, the Chief Minister alleged.

Related Stories

No stories found.

X
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com