Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivkumar alleged injustice to the state by the central government in tax transfers and grant-in-aid, saying the protest against the state’s Congress government in Delhi is not a show of strength but the voice of the people of the state.
Shivakumar, who is also holding the responsibility of Congress President in the state, said that if things continue like this and the central government does not resolve the issues, then his party will fight against it and protest on the streets of Karnataka on this issue.
Congress MLAs and MPs in Karnataka, including ministers of the Siddaramaiah-led government, protested at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on Wednesday demanding that the Central government compensate the state for the alleged loss of Rs 1,000 crore during the five years under the 15th Finance Commission. To compensate for the loss of Rs 87,000 crore.
On the question whether this is a show of strength, Shivakumar said, “This performance is not to show strength. The people of Karnataka do not want to show their strength. This is the voice of Karnataka where injustice has happened. Seven crore people are paying taxes every day and we are getting only 13 percent. We want our share.” “The state does not have its fair share, not just in Goods and Services Tax (GST) but in everything,” he told PTI-Video in the national capital.
On the alleged non-receipt of funds from the central government on several projects announced at the national level, including Upper Bhadra, Shivkumar said that Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who is a Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka, will have to answer for this.
He raised the question, “Nothing was given. The Finance Commission had said that Rs 6,000 crore was to be given (for the development of water bodies and peripheral ring roads in Bengaluru) and that too was not given. What is Nirmala Sitharaman doing?”
When asked about the Finance Minister’s statement in Parliament that the Karnataka government is spending money on guarantees and now has no money left to run the administration, he said, “Guarantees and this issue are different, they ( Centre) give our money and we will spend it as per the wishes of the people of Karnataka.”
When Shivakumar was asked what would happen next if things continue like this, he said, “We will fight this, we will protest on the streets of Karnataka over this.” Shivakumar told his brother and Congress MP from Bengaluru Rural D.K. Responding to a question on Suresh’s “separate nation” comment, he said, “There is no dispute, it is a fact. People are thinking that we are being sidelined, that’s all.”
Suresh had last week claimed that taxes collected from the south were being distributed to North India and the southern region was not getting their fair share. If this ‘injustice’ was not rectified the southern states would be forced to demand a separate nation.