Modi starving K’taka of tax share to sabotage guarantees, says CM Siddu

CM says Karnataka gets 14 paisa for Rs 1 paid in taxes, adds Maharashtra suffers similar fate

NT Correspondent

Nanded

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has alleged that the Narendra Modi-led Union government is setting aside a reduced tax share for Karnataka to starve the five guarantee schemes. He made the comments in Mukhed town in Nanded district of Maharashtra on Friday. On the occasion, he was campaigning for Hanumantha Rao Patil, the Congress candidate from Mukhed Assembly seat and Nanded Lok Sabha ticket holder Ravindra Chauhan. It is to be noted Maharashtra districts like Nanded that border Karnataka are home to a sizeable number of Kannada speakers. “Our share of the taxes that should have come to us justly has been reduced and we’re being troubled because they feel the guarantees should not get funds. Therefore, states like Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh should come together and protest this and oppose the Centre’s stand. You (voters) have an opportunity on the 20th (of November). If you want to oppose this and give them (BJP) a fitting reply, then defeat the BJP and its allies and ensure the victory of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). Only then, will they (BJP) learn,” Siddaramaiah said.

The CM told the crowd that Maharashtra and Karnataka were in the same boat, adding that they paid a massive amount in taxes to the Centre but got little in return. He pointed out that Maharashtra paid Rs 8,88,000 crore in taxes but got only Rs 1,30,000 crore in return, making it 15 paisa for Rs 1 paid. Similarly, Karnataka paid Rs 4,50,000 crore and received only Rs 60,000 crore in taxes, making it 13 to 14 paisa for every Rs 1 paid, he added. Siddaramaiah also responded to the claims made in BJP’s newspaper advertisements that Congress promised guarantees but didn’t implement them.

He pointed out Karnataka and other Congress-ruled states did indeed implement the guarantees such as the one that ensured a monthly allowance of a few thousand rupees for every woman “head of household”. The CM also slammed PM Modi for accusations of corruption against Congress, alleging the BJP used money obtained from graft to execute Operation Kamala, a euphemism for poaching and bribing MLAs to form governments in different states.