Karnataka CM and Deputy CM lead
Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah and DCM DK Shivakumar led a protest in Delhi’s Jantar Mantar against the Central leadership over reduced tax devolution to the state.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy CM DK Shivakumar and other senior party leaders on Wednesday held a protest against the Central leadership in Delhi’s Jantar Mantar over funds, reduced tax devolution and unfair resource distribution to the state.
CM Siddaramaiah arrived at Jantar Mantar along with his deputy Shivakumar and several other leaders including the state Home Minister G Parameshwara, Minister of Large and Medium Industries and Infrastructure Development MB Patil and Laxman Savadi on Wednesday to start off the protest.
Speaking in Jantar Mantar, the CM said, “Karnataka is number two as far as tax collection is concerned, Maharashtra is number one. As a matter of fact, this year Karnataka is contributing more than ₹4.30 lakh crores as tax. If we collect ₹100 as tax and give it to the Govt of India, we are only getting ₹12-13 back, that is our share.”
DK Shivakumar, who is also the Chief of the Karnataka Congress, echoed the sentiments, saying, “Karnataka is the second biggest state that is giving highest revenue to this country. We are asking for our rights, we are asking for our share. We have come here to show that we all are fighting here for the people of Karnataka.”
The movement received some support from other factions, with Shiv Sena (UBT faction) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi saying, “Over a period of time, the Centre has used the GST collection as a political tool where states governed by the opposition are usually deprived of the funds or not given in a timely manner. (Karnataka CM) Siddaramaiah is saying that over ₹65,000 crore worth of funds due to Karnataka aren’t being given to them.”
Reacting to the allegations levelled against the Central government, Union minister and BJP leader Giriraj Singh called the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in the state a “government of liars”. “Karnataka’s Congress government is a government of liars. Rahul Gandhi takes out Bharat Jodo Yatra, while, Congress is doing Bharat Todo Yatra,” he told reporters.
Meanwhile, Karnataka BJP leaders including MPs held a protest of their own in in front of the Gandhi statue in the Parliament, alleging that the ruling Congress has “misused” funds allocated to them.
Mr. Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister and KPCC president D.K. Shivakumar, ministers and legislators of the Congress party of the State left Bengaluru on Tuesday, February 6, evening to stage the protest on Wednesday at 11 a.m. Perhaps, this is for the first time the entire team of State government is protesting against the Centre at the national capital. The State has given full-page advertisements in all major dailies about the protest.
Meanwhile, Mr. Siddaramaiah termed the protest as “apolitical” and wrote letters to members of both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, and Union Ministers from Karnataka, to take part in the protest to “fight for financial justice”. Karnataka incurred losses of ₹1.87 lakh crore from 2017-18 after being denied its due share in devolution of funds, special grants and under the centrally sponsored schemes, the government said.
The letter also appealed to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who denied any discrimination in allocation of funds to Karnataka on Monday, to participate in the protest.
The protest under the “#MyTaxMyRight” aimed at drawing the attention of the central government and the people of the country and to protect the interests of the State.
After a patient wait
“It is our duty to do justice to the opportunity given to us by the people of the State. We were waiting patiently for the central government to provide justice in the federal system. We were waiting for them to act as they promised in last year’s budget. The State government is inviting all parties to join the protest and provide justice to Kannadigas. We are protesting to make the Union Government hear our woes,” the chief minister said.
The Union government has declared to provide ₹5,300 crore to the Upper Bhadra scheme in the 2023-24 Union budget and not a single rupee has been released so far, the State government has argued.
The Centre has not released funds for undertaking drought relief. Out of 236 taluks, 223 taluks had been declared drought-hit. The CM said that the Centre had not granted permission to increase the man days to 150 days under the MGNREGA. “This is not a political protest by the Congress party against the BJP. We are organising the protest because it is inevitable. We are protesting against the Central government’s step-motherly treatment,” the Chief Minister said.
Decline in share
Under the 14th Finance Commission (FC) the State’s share was 4.71%. It declined to 3.64% in the 15th FC. According to the estimate, ₹62,098 crore will be reduced in Karnataka’s share, the Chief Minister explained.
This demonstration of leadership and unity by Karnataka’s top officials in the heart of the nation’s capital served as a platform to bring the state’s concerns to the forefront of national discourse. The leaders expressed their commitment to working collaboratively with the central government to find viable solutions and ensure the equitable development and progress of Karnataka.
