Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Friday announced that the Karnataka government will stage a protest in New Delhi on February 7 against the stepmotherly treatment by the BJP government in the Centre.
Addressing a press conference here, Mr. Shivakumar, who is also the KPCC president, said: “Karnataka has been getting a raw deal in the Union Budget. The State has lost a revenue of about ₹62,000 crore in the last five years due to this. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Cabinet Ministers, MLAs, and MLCs will also participate in the protest to be held on February 7. We have written to the Centre about the venue for the protest.”
Urging MLAs, MLCs, and MPs of the Opposition parties to be part of the protest to seek justice for the State, he said: “The size of the Union Budget, which was ₹24.5 lakh crore in 2018-19, doubled in 2023-24 to ₹45 lakh crore but the State hasn’t benefited from it. Though the Budget size has doubled, grants for Karnataka have only gone up a little from ₹46,000 crore in 2018-19 to ₹50,000 crore in 2022-23.”
