K'taka govt compromised on state's interests: Activists

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: The Bahutva Karnataka recently released a report on how the Karnataka government compromised on federalism and the state’s interests. It is their fifth report on various sectors ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections.

All the previous reports hold the government accountable for wrongs it has done, besides highlighting them. In the report, the group of activists gave an ‘F’ grade to the government and said the state gets Rs 40 for every Rs 100 tax revenue that it contributes, down from Rs 53.

Saying that the state refused to give importance to the regional language, the report alleged that the imposition of Hindi is evident in such a way that Hindi Day is celebrated despite widespread opposition. It alleged that the state events are often hosted in Hindi language and the regional language has dwindled. “Examinations like the IBPS have been made unavailable in regional language,” the report said.

Alleging that the government has remained silent over the Mahadayi water-sharing dispute, the report also noted the government’s inability in getting relief from the natural calamity, especially during the 2021 flood. Recently, the state was reeling under the issue of Amul and Nandini products. However, highlighting that the report said that the state failed to stop the encroachment on subjects related to the state.

“Union government controls the Bommai government through remote control and Bommai was unsuccessful in constituting a full-fledged council of ministers for a month after when a powerful leader like B S Yediyurappa was removed. The phrase ‘double engine sarkaar’ commonly used today runs contrary to the very principle of federalism- the union government should not discriminate among the state government based on whether their party is in power or not,” the report further read.