BENGALURU: Bangalore Rural MP DK Suresh courted controversy on Thursday while responding to the Union interim budget, saying revenue and resources from South India were being used to fund development in the North.
He told reporters in New Delhi that Karnataka and the South were being unjustly ignored with regard to allocations. “If we don’t raise this issue and fight, there may come a time when we may have to put forth a proposal for a separate nation to correct this anomaly,” he said.
BJP SLAMS SURESH OVER COMMENT
EXPRESSING strong reservation about the Union government’s focus on the northern states, he said it will be enough if the Centre gave Karnataka its share of money. “Our demand is that we must get our share of GST and Customs from our state and direct taxes.
We have been witnessing a lot of injustice to South India...our share of money is being distributed in North India.” He was responding to a question on the budget promise of interest-free loans of Rs 75,000 crore to states. “The Centre is collecting taxes to the tune of more than Rs 4 lakh crore from Karnataka but how much we are getting in return? We must question this.
Since the 16th Finance Commission is going to start, if these (anomalies) are not rectified then the southern states will have to raise their voice.” BJP leaders were quick to launch a scathing attack, saying MP Suresh is asking for a “separate southern nation” and linked it to Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra.
“This MP has spoken about division of the country, it is Bharat Todo, not Bharat Jodo,” they said. Congress leaders, including DCM DK Shivakumar, rushed to their lone MP’s defence, saying he has spoken about people’s concerns. Shivakumar said, “I am a citizen of united India. Suresh has only mirrored the disappointment of the people about not a getting a fair share of the revenue.
We are all children of Mother India and we have to stay together. South India also needs the same priority and importance that is accorded to Hindi states.”
Attacking the BJP, he said, “Karnataka elected 25 BJP MPs, what have all the MPs done for Karnataka? Will our BJP MPs protest in front of Parliament House at least now?” Congress leaders said the imbalance in central allocations to the South needs to be addressed, without raising the issue of dividing India.