New Delhi, Feb 1: Lashing out at the Union budget for giving a raw deal for Karnataka, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar demanded that the BJP Union ministers and MPs must answer the people of the state.
Speaking to reporters at Karnataka Bhavan, he said, “Nirmala Sitharaman is elected to Rajya Sabha from Karnataka, but has given a raw deal to the state in the Budget. Karnataka is second in tax collection and first in IT exports, yet it hasn’t got funds for any major projects. BJP MPs representing Karnataka in Delhi must tell the people of Karnataka what the Budget has for the state.”
“The income tax relaxation will benefit only a handful of people. The tax bracket should have been removed completely, but it hasn’t happened. The budget has not benefited any sector. Let alone Greater Bengaluru, even Bengaluru City hasn’t got any benefit from the Budget.”
“I am not going to talk about other states, but the Centre hasn’t released the Rs 5,300 crore allocation it had announced for the Upper Bhadra project. This can happen to other states too,” he said.
Confident of winning Delhi
Asked about Delhi elections, he said, “Our party candidates and workers are confident of winning. Priyanka Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi have been drawing huge crowds wherever they are campaigning,” he said.
Asked about R Ashok’s statement that the CM would change in the state by November 16-17, he quipped, “Ashok keeps predicting like an astrologer once in a while. I will consult him next time.”
