Siddaramaiah admits burden on Karnataka exchequer due to guarantees, but clarifies initiative will not be stopped

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah admitted that the five guarantees implemented by his government are putting a burden on the state exchequer. But made it clear that the initiative will not stop and will continue for five years. His statement comes amid a controversy in which Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge had advised his party’s state units to make only those promises that are fiscally feasible, which was seen in relation to Congress-ruled states including Karnataka. He said that in our 2024-25 budget, we have set aside Rs 1.20 crore for development works. Out of this, Rs 56,000 crore has been allocated for guarantees and more than Rs 60,000 crore for development works. Naturally, this will be a burden on the state exchequer. But, we are managing without stopping development works, and we are meeting all the expenses. (PM) Narendra Modi himself had given a statement in Rajasthan that if these guarantees were implemented, the Karnataka government would go bankrupt and there would be no money for development works. That is what he had said. We came to power in May 2023 and we have implemented all the guarantee schemes in full. Asked about Kharge’s remarks on electoral concessions, Siddaramaiah claimed that his statement was misinterpreted. He also rejected BJP’s allegations that the Congress-ruled Himachal Pradesh and Telangana governments are unable to pay salaries to government officials due to the implementation of welfare schemes. Siddaramaiah said Revanth Reddy (Telangana Chief Minister), Sukhvinder Sukhu (Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister) and DK Shivakumar (Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister) had addressed the media and clarified that no development work has been stopped. Their governments have paid salaries to their officials.