From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network
Bengaluru, Feb 21: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah used the Legislative Council forum to attack Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the injustice to Karnataka in the share of taxes and devolution of funds and went on to assail the Modi rule for its step-motherly treatment to the State in the grant of funds for drought relief works.
In his reply to the motion of thanks to the Governor for his address to the joint session of the State legislature, the Chief Minister on Wednesday sought to attack the Prime Minister by using his own words as Chief Minister of Gujarat against the then Congress-led UPA regime and said Modi has conveniently forgotten what he said as chief minister in the 10 years of his prime ministership.
Siddaramaiah quoted Modi’s speech at the BJP national executive meet as chief minister of Gujarat and pointed out that the Prime Minister had demanded UPA regime to share 50% of the taxes collected from Gujarat to the State.
The Chief Minister accused the Modi rule of denying the State of its rightful share of taxes and mentioned that Karnataka gets barely Rs 37.252 crore as against its contribution of Rs 4.30 lakh crore in 2023-24 and another Rs 13,005 crore towards centrally funded projects, accounting for barely Rs 50,257 crore during the year.
The share of State in the devolution of funds must go up in accordance with increase in the size of the Central budget, which has not happened during the last 10 years of Modi rule. If the discrimination and injustice is questioned, Modi and the BJP claims that it is divisive and anti-national.
The BJP members, Kota Srinivas Poojary, Ravi Kumar and others took strong objection to the Chief Minister’s attack against the Prime Minister. However, Siddaramaiah and the Congress members said speaking what Modi had spoken in the past cannot be termed anti-national.
Modi as Gujarat chief minister had demanded that the UPA regime should share 50% of taxes collected from the State back to it. But the same Modi is responsible for the gross injustice to Karnataka, which gets barely 12 to 13% of the taxes contributed from the State. Is this not injustice, he asked.
CM to thank BJP 100 cr times if State gets its due
The Chief Minister challenged the BJP leaders to ensure that the Modi regime releases the rightful share of funds to Karnataka and offered to thank them 100 crore times.
When BJP leaders Kota Srinivasa Poojari and Ravi Kumar objected to the criticism of Modi, the Chief Minister shot back by claiming that he along with them belong to the ‘shudra’ or lower castes and asserted that there was nothing wrong in criticising Modi by quoting his own words.
When JDS member Boje Gowda objected to the ruling Congress party twisting the words of veteran Kannada writer Kuvempu, Siddaramaiah said the Congress government respects and lives up to the words of Kuvempu. But, Boje Gowda swearing by Kuvempu and his JDS joining a communal BJP is against the ideals of Kuvempu.
“The JDS has now become JDC with the word S for Secular being replaced by c representing Communal,’’ he said.
He jovially asked Boje Gowda to join Congress if he was really secular.
The Chief Minister said he had made a mistake by referring to President Droupadi Murmu in the singular instead of using the respectful plural.
“As soon as I realised my mistake, I have apologised and even issued a public apology,’’ he said, attacking BJP for making it a big issue when their own government in Delhi had insulted the President by not inviting her for the opening of the new Parliament building.
The Chief Minister said Congress party and its leaders were the real nationalists as they had fought and sacrificed for the freedom struggle. The BJP and none of its Sangh Parivar affiliates had taken part in the freedom struggle, he said.