Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who also holds the Finance portfolio, earmarked a whopping fund of over Rs 700 crore for minorities that included fee reimbursement for students and Rs 100 crore for the development of Waqf properties as he unveiled the State Budget 2024-25 during the Assembly session on Friday. The budget, additionally, mandated a minimum of 60 per cent usage of Kannada in official communications, businesses, and commercial establishments.
CM Siddaramaiah unveiled a revenue-deficit budget for the fiscal year, with a total outlay of ₹3,71,383 crore, compared to the revised estimate of ₹3,12,708 crore for 2023-24. The budgetary shortfall is estimated at ₹27,354 crore, marking a significant increase. According to sources, this fiscal year may see borrowings exceeding ₹1 lakh crore for the first time in the state’s history.
In the budget, he allocated ₹52,000 crore for the execution of five assurance schemes: Shakti, Gruha Jyoti, Gruha Lakshmi, Yuva Nidhi, and Anna Bhagya.
Amidst the budget presentation, the Opposition staged a walkout as Siddaramaiah criticised the BJP-led Centre. Subsequently, they held a protest at Vidhan Sabha over the State Budget. The CM asserted Karnataka suffered significant financial losses due to inadequate funds from the Union Government, attributing the State’s revenue deficit budget to this shortfall. Siddaramaiah alleged many BJP-governed States faced similar injustices but refrained from confronting the Central Government.
Opposition BJP on Karnataka Budget
Former Karnataka CM and BJP leader Basavaraj Bommai remarked, “Siddaramaiah tried to cover up his failures” by bringing irrelevant topics in the budget speech. He was “trying to blame the Centre unnecessarily and there is no money allocation for agriculture, water resources, rural development. So, as far as the people of rural and North Karnataka are concerned it is a zero budget”.
Karnataka Opposition and BJP leader R Ashok stated it is a bogus budget and the government is in a poor stage.
BJP MLA CN Ashwath Narayan accused the government of indulging in appeasement politics.
Echoeing the same sentiments, BJP MP Tejasvi Surya reacted to the government’s allocation to the Waqf Board and expressed, “To take money from the Hindu temples and use it to fund the religious institutions of non Hindu faiths is the standard SOP of ‘secular’ leaders like Siddharamiah. Secularism as practiced by them is not just a stick to brow beat the Hindu, it is also a tool to financially enrich others at the cost of the Hindu.”
JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy mentioned Siddaramaiah had no confidence when he commenced his speech about budget.
Fund Allocation For Minorities
- Workshops for maulvis and muttavallis will be registered with the Karnataka Waqf board
- Fee reimbursement scheme for government or private college students of minority communities pursuing BSc or Nursing courses
- Development of Waqf Board properties: Rs 100 crore
- Construction of Mangaluru’s Haj Bhavan: Rs 10 crore
- Development of Christian community: Rs 200 crore
- Minorities’ Development Corporation Programmes: Rs 393 crore
Mandatory Use Of Kannada
The State Government will strictly enforce an act for the use of Kannada language in all offices, shops and multiple commercial establishments as it is the official language of Karnataka.
Monument Conservation & Protection
Monuments, particularly maintained by the Archaelogical Survey of India or ASI, get a special focus on its protection and conservation.
Lingayat Outreach
The Congress-led Karnataka Government will print the slogan – Vishwaguru Basavanna Samskritika Nayaka – on the photo of Vishwaguru Jagajyoti Basavanna and display at all government offices as previously it announced this prominent figure as the cultural leader.
Hindu Outreach
Residential complexes will be developed in prominent pilgrimage sites like Thirumala, Srishaila, Varanasi, and Guddapur to accommodate pilgrims from Karnataka. The ongoing construction at Thirumala, with a budget of Rs 200 crore, is nearing its final stages. Projects in Srishaila, allocated Rs 85 crore, and Guddapur, budgeted at Rs 11 crore, are currently underway. Additionally, a construction project in Varanasi, with an estimated cost of Rs 5 crore, is set to commence soon.
