Chief Minister Siddaramaiah peppered his Budget speech on Friday with criticism of the previous Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the State and the party-led government at the Centre and accused them of fiscal indiscipline, causing slow growth of economy, corruption, and maladministration.
“On the one hand, crony capitalists thrived, while on the other, common people suffered untold miseries. While the deadly pandemic was after our lives, maladministration and corruption cost common people much more,” he said.
Defending the five guarantee schemes of the Congress, he said they were necessary to “bring the people out of the calamitous cycle of suffering on account of demonetisation, COVID-19 pandemic, political instability, uncontrolled price rise, and lack of vision for development.” He claimed that corruption was one of the many significant contributions of the previous government.
