From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network
Bengaluru, Feb 29: The previous BJP regime was ‘immersed in corruption and loot without any developmental works’, said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and asserted that the Congress government kept its pre-election promises of Guarantees and also carried out developmental works.
In his reply to the debate on the budget proposals for the year 2024-25 in the Assembly, he asked BJP leaders how the Government was able to increase the size of the State’s budget and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) without development.
“There was hardly any development in the State during the BJP rule as the previous government was busy looting public funds while the Congress government has not only implemented its Guarantees and also followed the path of development,’’ he said pointing out that, ‘’This is the difference between BJP and Congress.’’
Siddaramaiah said the size the State’s budget that was presented by BJP chief minister Basavaraj Bommai was Rs 3.09 lakh crore. It has been increased to Rs 3,71,243 crore by the Congress government for the year 2024-25.
The increase of Rs 62,000 crore in the size of budget as compared the Bommai’s budget and even a jump of Rs 43,601 crore from the previous budget presented by him in July 2023 indicates the difference between Congress and BJP.
Karnataka’s GDP was Rs 25,63,247 and it will jump to Rs 28,09,063 crore in 2024-25. Increase in size of the budget and GDP is the mark of development, he said.
The Chief Minister lashed out at the BJP for its decision of boycotting the presentation of the State budget and said it was unprecedented. It only proves the lack of commitment an concern on the part of BJP on the State’s economy, he said.
Countering BJP for its ‘baseless comment’ that the State budget had zero focus on development, the Chief Minister asked them how the allocation of a record Rs 1,20,000 crore was possible for developmental works? The government has allocated Rs 52,009 crore for implementation of the five guarantees, which is money being passed on to the pockets of the poor and deserving people and ultimately come back into the economy.
He said the BJP must remember that people have rejected it and blessed Congress with 136 seats and a vote share of 43%. The BJP could get barely 66 seats, he said attacking the former BJP chief minister B S Yediyurappa of coming to power through the backdoor through the party’s ill-famous ‘operation kamala’.
“BJP has never come to power in Karnataka on its own and has always usurped power through the backdoor by engineering defections. Bommai succeed Yediyurappa and the Bommai regime was known for commissions and corruption,’’ he said.
The Congress government has spent Rs 36,000 crore on the guarantee schemes of Shakti, Gruhajyothi, Anna Bhagya, Gruhalakshmi and Yuvanidhi.
Turning the tables on BJP and RSS, Siddaramaiah said even though the RSS was formed in 1925 it never participated in the freedom struggle. The BJP and Sangh Parivar has no faith in Constitution and are paying lip-sympathy, he said asking why Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah or any of the RSS leaders took action against BJP’s Karwar MP Anant Kumar Hegde for his brazen statement that BJP has come to power to change the Constitution.
BJP has no moral right to speak about nationalism and constitution, he said.