Siddu: State debt has doubled

Shilpa P | NT

Former CM Siddaramaiah has hit out at the BJP government for its poor financial management saying the debt burden of the state at the end of the tenure of the previous Congress government was Rs 2,15,000 crore, but in the past three years, it has doubled and has increased to Rs 4,57,000 crore.

The state has gone 20 years back in terms of development. So how can anyone expect a pro-people budget from such a government?, he wondered while speaking to media persons in Mysuru on Friday

Siddaramaiah said earlier for Centrally sponsored schemes, the fund share of the Centre used to be 75 percent and the state’s share used to be 25 percent. But now it has become 50-50. The five year GST compensation of Rs 20,000 crore will end on 22 June. ‘’We had requested BJP leaders to appeal to the GST council to extend the compensation period by another five years. Even that has not happened. Though Finance Minister Niramala Sitharaman is elected to the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka and there are 25 BJP MPs from the state, they do not have the courage to take up these issues for the state’s welfare with Prime Minister Narendra Modi,’’ he said.

This year, the Central government has taken a loan of Rs 11,59,000 crore as per the budget. And the government is paying interest of Rs 9 lakh crore per year for the debt. “Is it Sab ka saath, sab ka vikaas and vishwaas and is it the achche din Mr Modi spoke of,” Siddaramaiah wondered.