BENGALURU, 5 FEB

Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Monday said the Congress party will not be a silent spectator for the injustice against the State by the BJP-led Central government.

“The BJP government in the Centre has been constantly doing injustice to Karnataka - be it Covid relief, drought relief, MGNREGA or irrigation projects. Our government cannot take this silently anymore,” Shivakumar said. “We have to unitedly fight to get justice for the State. The people of the State have reposed faith and given us an opportunity and we have to repay that debt. We have been cooperating with the Centre as we believe in federalism. We have been watching the injustice caused to the State for the last ten years,” he said.

“The BJP keeps harping on double engine government, but they did nothing for the State when they were in power previously. We waited patiently that Karnataka will get justice in the Union budget at least, but our trust has been betrayed,” Shivakumar said.

About the Union budget, Shivakumar said, “Our State is the second biggest contributor in taxes, yet the State does not get its due. Some Northern States which contribute far lesser taxes are given much higher funds than Karnataka. We must raise this issue with the Centre and create awareness among the people of Karnataka. We intend to do that with the protest on 7 February.”

Calling upon MLAs, MLCs and MPs to participate in the protest irrespective of parties, Shivakumar said, “We must open the eyes of Central leaders to this grave injustice. The Chief Minister has written a letter regarding this to Prime Minister and I have called on Union ministers and have appraised them of this injustice. But nothing has happened. The State hasn’t received any funds for drought relief,” he said.

“The law has provision to increase the number of employment days in MGNREGA from 100 days to 150 days but the Centre is not doing that either. How long can we sit and watch this injustice? This protest is for justice, livelihood, economic independence of the people of Karnataka.”

About Union Finance Minister Niramala Sitharaman’s statement that she has no role in the State’s finances, he said, “I know Nirmala Sitharaman is smart. She represents Karnataka in Rajya Sabha and she is responsible for the State. She had announced Rs 5,300 crore for the Upper Bhadra project in the previous budget. The Finance Minister has every right to address disparities in Finance Commissions. She announced many projects for GIFT city in Gujarat, so why can’t she announce a GIFT city for Karnataka? We are all Indians, why this disparity?”

Referring to Sitharaman’s comment that the State government has money to spend on guarantee schemes, he said, “Karnataka government can manage the guarantees it has announced. Let the Centre give us our due share and we will manage the finances of our State.”