From Our Special Correspondent

Daijiworld Media Network

Bengaluru, Jul 11: Even as attempts are being made to iron out the differences and pave the way for smooth functioning of the HD Kumaraswamy-led JD(S)-Congress coalition regime, former chief minister and chairman of the coordination panel of the two ruling parties Siddaramaiah has publicly opposed Kumaraswamy’s budgetary proposal to hike taxes on petrol and diesel prices and demanded its roll back.

Speaking at a function organised to handing over the KPCC president’s post to Dinesh Gundu Rao at the Bengaluru Palace Grounds on Wednesday, Siddaramaiah also demanded restoration of monthly seven kg of rice per person being supplied to BPL families under the previous Congress government’s flagship Anna Bhagya Scheme.

Siddaramaiah said he had written to Kumaraswamy requesting him to roll back hike taxes imposed on petrol and diesel prices and restore the quantity of rice under the Anna Bhagya scheme.

The former chief minister said the fuel price by the government would go against the party’s national stance, though the fuel prices in the State are lowest in comparison with southern States.

Kumaraswamy in his budget, had increased tax on petrol from the present 30% to 32% and diesel from 19% to 21% and tax on consumption of electricity from 6% to 9%.

To mobilise resources to write off the Rs34,000 crore loans from cooperative and nationalised banks, the CM had increased taxes on fuel.

Siddaramaiah said he had written to the CM requesting him not to reduce the quantity of rice since “the objective of the Anna Bhagya scheme is to make Karnataka free from hunger.”

Legislators from north Karnataka spoke on the neglect of their region in the budget. Senior leader and former Minister H K Patil in a letter to the CM expressed his disappointment to the step motherly attitude shown to the region.

Siddaramaiah said his government has done good work during the last five years but failed to get a majority of seats owing to false information provided to voters by the BJP at the booth level.

“We have to work unitedly to defeat BJP and win the maximum number of the 28 Lok Sabha seas in Karnataka in next year’s elections,’’ he said complimenting both Dinesh Gundu Rao and the newly appointed state working president Ishwar Khandre.