Bengaluru. Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar alleged that the Center has committed injustice by allocating less funds to the state in tax devolution. He said that the Congress government of the state will fight against it. Karnataka Congress unit president Shivakumar attacked the state’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs and Union ministers for maintaining silence on the issue, calling it “shameful”. He said, “Injustice has been done to Karnataka. He has given more (money) to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. We were given less than Andhra Pradesh, which does not contribute much in taxes. We will fight and protest against this in the coming days.
Speaking to reporters here, Shivkumar said, “We will prepare a program to fight for our taxes, our rights.” He said, “Why did the BJP MPs and Union ministers not raise their voice? Despite there being five Union ministers from the state, including Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, they are silent while injustice is being done to the state. This is shameful.” The BJP cited data related to the use of population of states as a parameter for devolution of taxes and the tenure of the Manmohan Singh-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.
When asked about this, Shivkumar said, “Let us discuss all this in the Assembly… Let them join us in protest now.” The central government on Thursday released Rs 1,78,173 crore to the state governments. Transfer tax, which includes an advance installment of Rs 89,086.50 crore in addition to the regular installment due for October 2024. Karnataka got Rs 6,498 crore in the state-wise distribution of net income of central taxes and duties for October 2024. The opposition has criticized the word “evil forces” used in the Dussehra advertisements by the state government. When asked about this, Shivakumar said, “Based on what we have seen and the information we have, we have tried to express our feelings to the people. That’s all I can say right now. Rest things will be discussed in the assembly.
