Bengaluru : Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has said that he would lead a protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on February 7 against the 'injustice' done to the state by the Union government in the interim budget for 2024-25.
"It's not a political protest; it is a protest against stepmotherhood treatment of the central government, even when drought hit the state. That's why we have organised this protest on February 7 at 11 am at Jantar Mantar," said Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah
"We don't say don't give to north Indian states; we are asking what we deserve, what we need, and what needs to be given to us. Finance Commission recommendations must be followed. BJP leaders and BS Yediyurappa, Basavaraja Bommai, or any others must speak on it. We have MPs and ministers from the state, including Pralhad Joshi. But no one spoke in parliament. Are these not injustices to the state? What should people do? We have not been given funds, which must have been allotted and given to us. I'm also asking BJP MPs from the state to come to protest," the Karnataka Chief Minister added.
Further, the CM accused the BJP-led central government of ignoring the state's plight amid the drought situation.
"Karnataka has been treated unfairly in the Union Budget. Therefore, we have decided to protest in Delhi on February 7. Not a single penny has been given to the state for drought management," Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah said.
The Karnataka CM also accused Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman of failing to allocate any funds for drought management in Karnataka.
"The country should be united... The BJP does not talk about drought, inflation or unemployment... Nirmala Sitharaman has done injustice as Finance Minister," CM Siddaramaiah said.
The government presented the interim budget for 2024-25 in Parliament on Thursday with a focus on economic policies that foster growth, facilitate inclusive development, improve productivity, and create opportunities for various sections, while also noting that it will pay utmost attention to the eastern region, including the states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and West Bengal, to make them growth engines as part of a goal to make India a developed country by 2047.
No change was proposed in the tax rates in the interim budget, with Finance Minister Sitharaman announcing that the government will form a high-powered committee for an extensive consideration of the challenges arising from the fast population and that it will present a white paper on the economic performance of 10 years of BJP-led government compared to the previous 10 years of Congress-led UPA government.
This was the last budget of the PM Modi government in its second term, with Lok Sabha polls expected in April-May this year. Sitharaman, who presented her sixth budget in the Lok Sabha, expressed confidence in the BJP-led NDA coming to power again.
"In the full budget in July, our government will present a detailed roadmap for our pursuit of 'Viksit Bharat'," Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.
—ANI