Bengaluru, Feb 2 (IANS) Karnataka's Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah on Wednesday termed the Union budget 2023-24 as a continuation of the policy of "ameer ke saath, gareeb ka vinash" (supporting the rich, destroying the poor) followed by the central "trouble" engine government.
About sanction of Rs 5,300 crores for Upper Bhadra Project, he said the project needs Rs 23,000 crores for completion, and the Central government has agreed to give only a quarter of it. "If 40 per cent commission is taken off, the project will only get less than Rs 3,000 crore. It is not shown whether the sanctioned amount is for the period of one year or five years," he said.
He said Finance Minister Niramala Sitharaman, though elected from Karnataka, has completely neglected the state. Despite mentioning the name of Karnataka while presenting the budget she had not announced any new schemes or projects, Siddaramaiah said.
"The state government, which is acting as a slave to the central government, has totally failed to get attention towards the needs of the state. It is custom that, before a budget, the CM along with MPs would discuss and present needs before the Union government. But, this time the tradition was broken," he added.
The 25 MPs who got elected from the state and six Rajya Sabha members have not raised their voices regarding the demands of the state and the injustices, he stated.
Siddaramaiah said that due to mismanagement of the Union government and Corona, the economy of the country is doomed, and the farmers' life made miserable as the agriculture sector which creates 54 per cent of employment and contributes hugely to the economy has been totally neglected.
"When compared to the 2022-23 budget, the funds to the farm sector have been reduced by Rs 8, 468.21 crore. The slogan of doubling farmers' income has fallen flat. The expectation on waiving loans of small farmers has also not been considered. The Central government has reserved Rs 2 lakh crore to be given as loan to farmers. Instead of lifting them from the debt trap, it is giving signals that they should take new loans to clear older ones," he claimed.