Siddaramaiah accuses state government of giving wrong information on debt

Bengaluru: Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has accused the state government of giving wrong information on state debt.

In a letter addressed to CM Yediyurappa, Siddaramaiah requested the Chief Minister to stop spreading false information regarding state debt and give food and financial packages to the poor.

He further said that BJP is a factory of lies. Rather than giving packages to the poor, they are blaming me for increasing state debt. Compared to the previous government, the amount of debt during the BJP government for the period of 2008-2013 was increased up to 94.18 percent. But during our government, the debt percentage increased only by 78 percent in 2013-18. It has been a custom to borrow and settle Rs 20 to 30 thousand crores every year.

The total debt of the state for 2017-18 was only Rs 242420 crores. Now, according to official data from the state government, the amount is Rs 457899 crore. Rs 69000 crore was borrowed in 2020-21. This means that in the last four years, the state government has been borrowing more than Rs 214479 crores, he added.

Siddaramaiah said that every year  Center collects over Rs 250000 crores of wealth from our state. But what we have been given this year is only Rs 50000 crores. According to the rule, we should have received Rs. 100,000 crore. The Central Government has not given us proper funds and caused the state to suffer.

The state government is involved in corruption. The commission per development project exceeds 30 percent. Only 40-50 percent is being spent on Smart city projects. Also, state-owned lands are being handed over to companies, he opined.

During the meeting held regarding state budget 2021, Chief Minister said that the state’s financial position was very good compared to the neighboring countries. But now he says that the financial status is not good and packages cannot be given to the poor. What should the people do? he questioned.