Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, on Monday, February 2, rejected the Opposition’s allegation that he had been reduced to a “helpless” leader, arguing instead that “sometimes truth becomes helpless before falsehood.” He was replying to a debate in the Assembly on the motion of thanks to the Governor’s address.
Reasserting his political stance and leadership style, Siddaramaiah said, “I am the same Siddaramaiah and I will continue to be the same Siddaramaiah,” dismissing allegations that he had changed or weakened during his current tenure.
The Chief Minister said the administrative machinery had neither derailed nor become insensitive, as alleged by the Opposition. Citing examples, he pointed to the government’s decision to withdraw the notification for acquiring 1,770 acres of farmland in Devanahalli taluk for an aerospace park, arguing that an “insensitive” government would not have heeded farmers’ concerns.
Responding to allegations of tax burdens, Siddaramaiah said Karnataka’s petrol and diesel prices were lower than in neighbouring states. He also defended the state’s stamp duty and registration rates.
Siddaramaiah countered the Opposition’s claim that the Narendra Modi-led NDA government had granted Karnataka more funds than the previous UPA regime. He said such comparisons should account for the size of the Union budget, noting that the cumulative spending of the UPA’s 10-year period was Rs 95.21 lakh crore, compared with Rs 380 lakh crore under the Modi government’s 12 years.
Reiterating that Karnataka had lost Rs 1.25 lakh crore over five years due to the 15th Finance Commission reducing the state’s share from 4.71% to 3.64%, he said that the revised GST slabs have added a burden of an additional Rs 18,000 crore to Rs 20,000 crore annually. Karnataka, he said, contributes Rs 4.5 lakh crore to Rs 5 lakh crore in taxes to the Union but receives only Rs 55,000 crore to Rs 60,000 crore in return.
As the Opposition staged a walkout expressing dissatisfaction with the reply, the motion of thanks to the Governor’s address was passed by voice vote.