NEW DELHI/BENGALURU, 1 FEB

Claiming taxes collected from the south were being distributed to north India and that the former were not getting their due share, Congress MP DK Suresh on Thursday said the southern states will be forced to demand for a separate nation if the 'injustice' was not rectified.

His brother and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said Suresh only spoke about the public perception, even as BJP lashed out at the Lok Sabha member.

Responding to the Union Budget tabled by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Suresh said in New Delhi that it will be enough if the Centre gave Karnataka its share of money. “Our demand is that we must get our share of GST, Customs from our State and direct taxes."

Suresh said: "The Centre is collecting taxes to the tune of more than Rs 4 lakh crore from Karnataka but how much we are getting in return? We must question this. Since the 16th Finance Commission is going to start, if these (the anomalies) are not rectified then the southern states will have to raise their voice.”

Alleging that Hindi was being imposed on South India in every aspect, he said the ordinance mandating 60 per cent use of Kannada in signboards of businesses and establishments was 'rejected' by Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said one can make demands and put pressure on the Centre because India is a federal state. "We have agreed to federalism. Further, the State governments give taxes. Centre does not have its area to extract taxes. The tax money that goes from here is distributed to us by the Finance Commission. Now injustice has happened to us in tax distribution. Devolution of taxes is not happening properly. There was 1.07 per cent decrease in devolution of taxes from 14th finance commission to 15th finance commission. It happened during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's tenure," he said.

Opposition BJP condemned Suresh’s statement saying this was "Bharat Todo movement". Party's State President BY Vijayendra strongly condemned Suresh' statement. "People in responsible position should weigh well before speaking."