Siddu: Budget is not pro-development

Shilpa P | NT

Former CM Siddaramaiah dubbed the Union Budget disappointing and anti-development and said it has failed to respond to current issues. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has also failed to secure adequate funds for the state, he said.

Speaking to media persons at Jungle Lodges and Resorts at Kabini backwaters in HD Kote taluk of Mysuru district on Tuesday, Siddaramaiah said though the pandemic is still raging, the allocation f o r the health sector has been increased by only Rs 80 Crores. The allocation for h i g h e r educat i o n h a s been increased by Rs 4700 Crores but the overall allocation for primary, secondary and technical education is very less. He also pointed to the cut in allocation for the Mahatma Gandhi national rural employment guarantee scheme(MGNREGS) this year.

Medium, small, and micro industries are closing down leading to loss of 60 percent employment. But there is no announcement to rejuvenate them nor has the suburban railway project been approved, he said.

When the Congress government led by Manmohan Singh was in power, the debt burden was Rs 53 lakh Crore. Now in 8 years of Narendra Modi rule, the total loan has risen to Rs 93 lakh Crore. When Manmohan Singh was PM, the loan compared to GDP was just 46 percent. Now it has increased to 61 to 62 percent, he said. When A.B. Vajpayee was in power, the interlinking of rivers was announced which has been repeated now, he added.