Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has urged Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa to disclose the reduction in Centre’s allocation to Karnataka, which is likely to go down by nearly ₹10,000 crore in the coming financial year.
Addressing presspersons here on Monday, Mr. Siddaramaiah said that the allocations and grants from the Union government to Karnataka were being reduced year after year and the Union government was not releasing full grants under the 15th Finance Commission.
He said that the Union government was meting out injustice to States, particularly in the South, while additional grants were being given to North-Eastern States. “The Chief Minister should disclose all these issues during the budget presentation. We will also raise the issue during the discussion on budget. The GST collection has gone down. Consequently, they are going to cut down allocations to the State,” he said.
Taking exception to the remarks by Anantkumar Hedge, MP, on Mahatma Gandhi’s participation in freedom struggle, Mr. Siddaramaiah said: “A person who does not know even the basics of the Constitution has become an MP. He should be ashamed of himself for making such a statement.”
Regarding the Cabinet reshuffle, Mr. Siddaramaiah said that no MLA who had won in the byelections should be made Minister. “According to me, no individual who has betrayed his party should be made Minister”, he said.
