The controversy over alleged injustice to Karnataka over revenue sharing by the Union government has taken a new turn, with a civil society group proposing an open debate between the Union Finance Minister and Karnataka’s Finance Minister.
Civil society group Jagruta Karnataka will organise the open debate in Bengaluru on Saturday, April 6, on the alleged injustices to the state. Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda has accepted the invitation and will speak at the event.
Rajshekar Akki of Jagruta Karnataka told The News Minute that they had written to Nirmala Sitharaman on April 1, but have received no response until now, but the event will go ahead. “Both the Centre and state are making claims and the public needs to know whether injustice has been done to Karnataka or not. The other day, Amit Shah came to Bengaluru and said the state government had not written a letter asking for funds. We need to know what the truth is. It is our fundamental right to know. Let both sides present their arguments,” Rajshekar said.
Read: The fight between Karnataka CM and FM Nirmala Sitharaman explained
Asked how the event will continue despite the lack of response from Nirmala, Rajshekhar said that Jagruta Karnataka had put together some data and added that Krishna Byre Gowda too would present the government’s view point. “We plan to invite the Union Minister again,” he said.
Jagruta Karnataka is a civil society group of around 200 people from across the state. “We are a socio-political group who aim to work for narrative building. We have units all over the state and work with Kannada organisations,” Rajshekar said, adding that they were not part of the Congress party.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has been taking on the Union government since he assumed office in May 2023, alleging that the Union government has denied revenue and grants to Karnataka. As parliamentary elections near, the debate has only got more heated with Karnataka’s ministers challenging the Union government, including Home Minister Amit Shah over their claims.
Earlier this week, IT BT and Rural and Panchayati Raj Development Minister Priyank Kharge told the media that Amit Shah was “lying through his teeth” when he claimed that the Karnataka government had delayed approaching the Union for drought relief.