'Who Said That?' Shivakumar on 'No Budget' in K'taka Claims, Says Have Made Plans, Going to Implement Soon

Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar on Wednesday said the Congress government in the state will implement five guarantees that the party promised during the Assembly elections.

Shivakumar said CM Siddaramaiah has given a budget for the government schemes and every financial aspect has been kept ready.

When asked to comment on the opposition BJP’s allegations that the state government has no budget for its schemes, the Deputy CM said, “Who said that? Karnataka is a very strong state. We have made plans, we are going to implement them. It is the land of Basavanna, we are going to implement whatever we said. Siddaramaiah has given a budget and every financial aspect has been kept ready. We are going to implement even after elections.”

Earlier in the day, CM Siddaramaiah targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his reported remark that “Karnataka is left with no money due to freebies”.

He asked if the BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh government’s Ladli-Behena scheme where the government will deposit Rs 1000 per month into the accounts of women beneficiaries and Centre’s PM-Kisan Samman Yojana, which deposits Rs 6000 annually into the accounts of farmers, are not a “freebie”.

The CM said the Central Government is implementing eight freebie schemes with an estimated budget outlay of Rs 1.25 lakh crores.

He said his government is making the best efforts to fight against the financial crisis, relieve the burden of debt, and ensure social security for the common people.