Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah on Monday termed the State Budget presented by Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa as an “unrealistic, anti-development one that would push the State towards bankruptcy in the coming years”.

Initiating the debate in the Legislative Assembly on the Budget, Mr. Siddaramaiah expressed fear that the State was being pushed to the brink of bankruptcy as the government had resorted to huge borrowings that had exceeded the allotted limit.

“As against ₹1.06 lakh crore borrowed by our dispensation in five years from 2013 to 2018, Mr. Yediyurappa-led government has borrowed ₹1.41 lakh crore in the last two years alone,” he pointed out.

The government had presented a revenue deficit Budget for the first time since 2004-05 and the expected revenue deficit was to the tune of over ₹19,000 crore and ₹15,000 crore in 2020-21 and 2021-22 respectively, he said.

Seeking to debunk the claims of the Chief Minister that the Budget was “pro-Dalit, pro-farmer and pro-women”, Mr. Siddaramaiah pointed out that allocation under the Special Component Plan and Tribal Sub-Plan for Dalits had actually seen a decrease though Budget size had increased. Observing that it was a violation of norms to reduce allocation, he urged the government to adhere to norms and increase the allocation for SCP/TSP.

With respect to agriculture and allied sectors, Mr. Siddaramaiah pointed out that the allocation had reduced when compared to last year. “The farm sector has seen reduction in allocation in the Budget presented by the Chief Minister wearing a green shawl,” he taunted. Similarly, the allocation for women had reduced though the Budget had been presented on the International Women’s Day, he said.

‘Not transparent’

He said the Budget had lost its sanctity as there was no transparency. “It is hiding more things than placing before people,” he alleged.

He also took exception to more than a dozen development corporations getting a meagre allocation as against Lingayat and Vokkaliga development corporations getting ₹500 crore each. “I welcome the allocation made to the major communities. But show similar gesture towards the oppressed ones too,” he said.

The government has not increased taxes because there was no scope for increase in taxes in the Budget since all types of taxes had reached a high point, he said.

Stating that the government has been citing COVID-19 pandemic for economic slowdown, revenue deficit and decline in expenditure for development expenditure, Mr. Siddaramaiah said the State lost nearly ₹1.5 lakh crore funds from the Centre during the last five years. The Centre reduced the allocations to the State in the taxes collected by it, he pointed out.

He urged the government to put pressure on the Centre to extend compensation to be claimed by the state under the GST for another five years. The Centre has decided to stop releasing compensation under the GST to States from June 2022.

Nothing permanent

On Mr. Yediyurappa asking what he (Mr. Siddaramaiah) would have done in his place, Mr. Siddaramaiah said: “We will come back to power… Those days are not far away. No one has occupied the seat of power permanently since 1947.”