BENGALURU: Opposition leader Siddaramaiah has slammed the budget as a boastful exercise. “There is a lot of false and incorrect information. Over the past few years, they have burdened the people with more loans. This has been their greatest achievement,’’ he sarcastically remarked.
“The state’s total debt from independence till 2018-19 was Rs 2,42,000 crore. This will rise to Rs 5,18,000 crore by March next year. Interest on loans was Rs 13,000 crore in 2017-18, and now, it is over Rs 29,000 crore. The BJP government has borrowed Rs 2,66,000 crore during the last four years,’’ he noted.
Opposition leader in the Council, B K Hariprasad, said, “ Basavaraj Bommai has announced a please-all budget with allocation for all sectors. But there is no road map on how resources for this will be managed. It is evident that none of these allocations and announcements can be fulfilled as the state’s finances are in dire straits. This budget is presented keeping the upcoming elections in mind. How can resources be managed for these big ticket announcements? If the Centre does not provide funds, managing finances for these schemes is impossible and these announcements will remain on paper.’’
JDS leader H D Kumaraswamy slammed the government saying the Mekedaatu issue is held up because it has not received clearances from the Central Water Commission. “Merely allocating Rs 1,000 crore in the budget is just an eyewash. How can they excecute it without the mandatory clearances,’’ the former CM questioned.