The Finance Minister said the Congress was now shifting the blame on the Centre. “They are adding a poisonous narrative to this. Language of separatism! Which brother of DK Shivakumar said earlier – ‘you don’t give us our tax money, give us a separate state!”
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday responded to the Karnataka government’s charge that she rejected Rs 5,495 crore special grants to the southern state despite being recommended by the 15th Finance Commission. She said that this recommendation that the Karnataka government referred to “did not form the final part of the 15th Finance Commission report’.
“So the question of not accepting recommendation does not arise at all,” the finance minister said, adding that she complies with the Finance Commission’s recommendation to the last word. “Beyond the Finance Commission report, Rs 6,279.94 crore has been provided to Karnataka to assist capital expenditure plans,” she said.
Sitharaman said the state government was now realising that it could not fulfil the guarantees post which they won and came to power in Karnataka. “During the campaign, many of us had said this will cost them Rs 60,000 crore annually roughly,” she said, adding that the Congress was now under pressure to meet guarantees.
The Finance Minister said the Congress was now shifting the blame on the Centre. “They are adding a poisonous narrative to this. Language of separatism! Which brother of DK Shivakumar said earlier – ‘you don’t give us our tax money, give us a separate state!”
Sitharaman’s response came a day after Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the 15th Finance Commission had recommended a special grant of Rs 5,495 crore for the state in the interim budget, which the Finance Minister declined.
He said under the 14th Finance Commission (2015-2020), Karnataka received 4.71 per cent of the tax share, which was reduced to 3.64 per cent by the 15th Finance Commission (2020-2025). This 1.07 per cent decrease resulted in an estimated loss of Rs 62,098 crore for Karnataka over five years.
“To compensate, the 15th Finance Commission recommended a special grant of Rs 5,495 crore for Karnataka in the interim budget, which Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman subsequently declined,” the Congress leader said on Tuesday.