Sitharaman earlier in the day junked the Karnataka regime's claim that the Union government was not releasing its share of "special grants".
File photo of Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. (Siddaramaiah.Official/Facebook)
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday, 24 March, came down heavily on Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman over her remarks that the Union government did not owe any more grant money to Karnataka.
Sitharaman earlier in the day sought to dismiss the Karnataka government’s claim that the Union government was not releasing its due share of “special grants”, as recommended by the 15th Finance Commission.
She said: “The Karnataka government claims that ₹5,495 crore special grant was not released to Karnataka and this is totally false.”
The Finance Minister added: “The Finance Commission did not in its final report recommend any such special grant.”
Sitharaman’s remarks came a day after Siddaramaiah said that the Karnataka government had filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the Union government over a delay in releasing the required funds to tackle the drought situation in the state.
In it, the state government prayed to the court to direct the Union government to immediately release money due to it under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF).
The move came after months of waiting and multiple memorandums submitted to the Union government.
“Since there is a vacation for a week in the Supreme Court, we did not get the endorsement. We expect it next week,” Siddaramaiah told reporters on Saturday.
The Karnataka chief minister came armed with records on Sunday when he took to X (formerly Twitter) to counter the Union finance minister’s narrative from earlier in the day.
He wrote: “One expects the country’s Finance Minister to speak the truth. Unfortunately, she has been consistently denying the written word.”
He noted that the interim report of the 15th Finance Commission for 2020-21 had sanctioned ₹6,764 crore for three states — Karnataka (₹5,495 crore), Telangana (₹723 crore), and Mizoram (₹546 crore).
“These grants were recommended not because of any special love for these states. These were recommended to ensure that no state receives [a] lower share in devolution in absolute numbers than the previous year,” wrote Siddaramaiah, adding that he was attaching a copy of the document that would show this.
One expects the country’s Finance Minister to speak the truth. Unfortunately, she has been consistently denying the written word.
The interim report of the 15 FC for 2020-21 sanctioned Rs 6764 crores for three states, viz Karnataka (Rs 5495 crores), Telangana (Rs 723 crores) &… pic.twitter.com/8kFhl70oo2
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) March 24, 2024
He also said that the commission, in the final report, also recommended ₹6,000 crore for Karnataka, ₹3,000 crore for the revival of water bodies, and ₹3,000 crore for the Peripheral Ring Road for Bengaluru.
The Union Ministry of Finance under the leadership of Sitaraman “refused to accept these two recommendations”, thereby “denying the rightful share for Karnataka”, he added, while attaching a copy of this as well.
Siddaramaiah also wrote in the post: “Smt @nsitharaman avare, we are not asking for funds to our 5 Guarantees. We have adequate provision for those in our budget, thank you. [sic]”
He added: “Since you don’t seem to have any faith in or commitment to the federal polity enshrined in our Constitution, you don’t seem to understand the concept of rightful share of the states. Kannadigas demand their share. They are not begging. [sic]”
Karnataka is among the several states in South India that have been campaigning against the perceived fiscal injustice to them by the Union government.
Siddaramaiah led a protest against this at the Jantar Mantar in Delhi on 7 February.
Taking the state tax movement to the doorsteps of the Union government, the chief minister back then called it a “historic campaign for the welfare of Karnataka, meant to protect the interests of Kannadigas”.
Speaking during the agitation, he claimed: “The Union government has done us injustice in sharing of taxes.”
Siddaramaiah added: “Because of this, Karnataka has suffered losses of ₹1.87 lakh crore in the last five to six years. This protest is against this injustice.”
Days later, he quoted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s words back at him to drive the point home.
He reminded Modi of how he had railed against the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre in 2012 over Gujarat — whose chief minister he was back then — not getting back the rightful dues after tax payment.
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