Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said the Union Budget was "disappointing" as none of the demands made by the state during the pre-budget meeting were fulfilled.
"There is no new announcement in this budget for Karnataka, which is the second highest tax-paying state. I had submitted a detailed list of demands to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. I am not sure if she looked at it. Prime Minister Modi seems to have forgotten we have a federal system. Every state looks at the Union budget with great anticipation. But in today’s budget, there is nothing for any state except for Bihar and Andhra,” slammed Siddaramaiah, who also dared the BJP-JDS MPs and the central ministers from the state to ask the PM why the state was given an “empty bowl”.
'Income tax exemption is nothing to cheer for'
Siddaramaiah who has tabled more than 14 state budgets till now dismissed the revised tax slab and exemption as not beneficial to the majority of the population.
“The income tax limit has been raised to Rs 12 lakh. But only 8.09 crore people paid income tax in the last financial year, which is 6.64 per cent of our total population. Of this 4.90 crore are zero tax payers. So, this move will only help a few middle-class families and not the 70 per cent of the population whose daily income is only Rs 100 to Rs 150,” explained Siddaramaiah.
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Stating that the allocations to various sectors had been reduced, Siddaramaiah said, “Agriculture was allocated Rs 1,31,196 crore in the last budget but was decreased to Rs 1,27.290 crore this time. Similarly, housing sector allocations reduced from Rs 54,500 crore to Rs 32,426 crore, Jal Jeevan Mission from Rs 70,163 crore to Rs 27,694 crore. Crop insurance was reduced from Rs 15,864 to Rs 12,242, while NREGA allocation remains Rs 86,000 crore. This means that the allocation has not increased because the allocated amount is not being spent on any of these projects.”
India’s debt burden to reach Rs 205 lakh crore by 2026: Siddaramaiah
The chief minister also predicted that the country could be under a huge debt of Rs 205 lakh crore by March 2026.
“The budget outlay is Rs 50.65 lakh crore. But in 2024-25, the budget outlay was Rs 48.20 lakh crore but the revised estimates stated that the expenditure to be Rs 47.16 lakh crore. This indicates a decrease in tax collection by Rs 1.04 lakh crore and also the poor state of the country’s economy. According to Sitharaman, the total borrowings for the year is Rs 15.68 lakh crore, and the interest payment on debts is the single largest expense of Rs 12.7 lakh crore. So, the country's debt might touch Rs 205 lakh crore by March 2026,” warned Siddaramaiah.
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Siddaramaiah also charged that the budget document lacked vision. “The Union Budget should be a document that gives a comprehensive picture of the economic policies, statements and projects that reflect the development map of the country. Information should be given on the policies and projects that have been formulated to effectively address the challenges currently facing the country in terms of development. The financial aspects provided for this should be mentioned. This budget does not have such a format.”
