Karnataka budget lacks direction, laced with lies: Oppn parties
BENGALURU: The Opposition BJP and JDS on Friday criticized the budget presented by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah with Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R Ashoka saying that it lacked commitment and direction.
Calling the budget a ‘DPR budget’, state JDS president and former CM HD Kumaraswamy said, “With this budget, Siddaramaiah has laid the foundation for the destruction of the state.” Recalling the Congress’ ‘keevi mele hoovu’ (flower on the ear) campaign against the previous BJP government in the state, Kumaraswamy said, “Now, he (Siddaramaiah) has put flowers on the ears of 7 crore Kannadigas!”
Ashoka said the budget lacks vision. “It lacks commitment and direction. This is a hopeless budget on all fronts and there is no vision for the development of the state. This budget lacks foresight, fails to instill confidence in the public, and has no new initiatives to address the needs of farmers, women, the poor, youth, and industry. It is only decorated with empty slogans and fancy titles. In Siddaramaiah’s first term, Karnataka’s debt rose from Rs 1,39,000 crore to Rs 2,86,790 crore in just five years. The annual interest burden on the state shot up from Rs 8,500 crore to Rs 16,208 crore leaving a debt burden of Rs 44,000 on every citizen. His second term is also pushing the state into a debt crisis,” he said, adding that using the budget to blame the Union Government exposes the Congress’ existential crisis. “It reflects Congress’ sheer desperation to somehow paint a bad picture of the Modi Government ahead of Lok Sabha polls,” Ashoka added.
State BJP president BY Vijayendra said the budget will take the state back by 20 years. “It is anti-farmer and it is a budget of zero progress for the development of the state. Siddaramaiah has wasted his time… he has shirked his responsibility and covered up his failures.”
Former CM Basavaraj Bommai said Siddaramaiah has presented a political budget laced with a bundle of lies to cover up his failures and also created a record of borrowing Rs 1.5 lakh crore while presenting the budget for the 15th time. “The budget had been used to oppose the Central Government and destroyed its sanctity… Without attending a single meeting of the Niti Aayog and attacking the government in the budget is just for the sake of politics,” he said, adding that the Congress has made Karnataka bankrupt.