Siddaramaiah.
Credit: DH file photo
Bengaluru: The 10-day budget session of the Karnataka legislature, which commences on Monday, is likely to witness heated exchanges between the ruling Congress and the combined BJP-JD(S) opposition over a range of issues including the resurfaced '40% commission' allegation, 'separate nation' remark by a Congress leader, removal of saffron flag in Mandya, and the Union government's alleged discrimination towards the state.
The session will begin with the customary address of Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will be presenting his record 15th budget on Friday with an outlay likely to be higher by around Rs 70,000 crore than his previous budget. The CM's previous budget in July last year had a total outlay of Rs 3,27,747 crore, up from Rs 3,09,182 crore in the budget presented by his predecessor Basavaraj Bommai in February 2023 ahead of the Assembly polls.
As Siddaramaiah had indicated that he would be presenting a 'white paper' on the funds released by the Union government, the BJP-JD(S) combine is likely to counter it with their own 'paper’ highlighting the state’s "failure" to tackle drought and the "mismanagement" of funds. Even though the Opposition wants to give a quirky name to the document, they may not use the term ‘black paper’ as it was used by central Congress leaders last week, a senior BJP functionary told DH.
The BJP-JD(S) combine is likely to launch an assault on the ruling party over several key issues including the '40% commission' allegation in civil contract works, 'separate nation' remarks by a Congress MP, "inept" handling of the drought situation, "lack" of development, "deteriorating" law and order situation, "mismanagement" of the state's finances.
The Opposition is also likely to raise issues that have communal undertones, such as the removal of a saffron flag (Hanuma Dhwaja) by the district authorities in Mandya district and the police action on BJP activists and villagers who protested against it. The Opposition had protested vehemently over the issue even as the government explained that the villagers had replaced the national flag with the Hanuma Dhwaja, which necessitated the action.
The Congress is likely to defend itself by targeting BJP senior leader K S Eshwarappa over his statement that the nation should have a legal provision to "kill traitors with a bullet" besides reiterating the allegations of "injustice" meted out to the state by the Union government in tax devolution and grants-in-aid, and in "delaying" clearances to several development projects.