Karnataka CM Calls for Sitharaman’s Removal from Cabinet: On Monday, Chief Minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to dismiss Nirmala Sitharaman from the cabinet right away, claiming that it is very risky to have someone without even rudimentary financial expertise as the Finance Minister. He underlined that it is a ‘very dangerous’ choice to commit the finance portfolio to someone who does not have a basic grasp.
The chief minister chastised the FM for her purported “desperate attempts to cover up the injustices done to Karnataka by the Modi government” in remarks regarding Nirmala Sitharaman’s press conference on Sunday. He pointed out that Sitharaman’s deceptive claims eventually show that Karnataka has received very little assistance from the federal government. “Sitharaman claims that Karnataka received ₹60,779 crore from the former UPA government (2004–2014) while receiving ₹2,36,955 crore from the NDA government (2014–2024). They have neglected to note, though, how much the budget of the central government has grown during the last ten years. It needs to be made clear if this omission was made intentionally to deceive the public or out of ignorance, according to a statement released by the Chief Minister’s Office.
The budget of the central government for the year 2013–14 was ₹16.06 lakh crore. He pointed out that at the time, Karnataka received ₹16,428 crore in grants and ₹15,005 crore in tax share, for a total of ₹31,483 crore, or 1.9% of the entire budget. The budget of the central government for 2024–2025 is ₹48.02 lakh crore. Karnataka would obtain ₹15,229 crore in grants and ₹44,485 crore in tax share during this time, or 1.2% of the overall budget. Karnataka will receive ₹91,580 crore if it were to obtain the same 1.9% share as it did in 2013–14. He added that Karnataka has lost ₹31,866 crore for 2024–25 as a result of the Narendra Modi government’s discriminatory treatment of the state. “Misleading claims have been made by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman that the central government is increasing Karnataka’s tax share. She claims that Karnataka was given ₹81,791 crore under the UPA administration and ₹2.9 lakh crore under the NDA administration (2014–2024).
Nevertheless, Karnataka’s tax part was established by the 14th Finance Commission at 4.72 percent; this was later lowered to 3.64 percent by the 15th Finance Commission, translating into an estimated loss of ₹62,098 crore in the tax share alone over the previous five years. Sitharaman has made an effort to hide this large cut. According to Siddaramaiah, the aid grant for 2024–25 is still less than what we got during the UPA in 2013–14. He added that Karnataka is the state with the highest GST growth rate (17%) and the second-highest tax collection rates in the nation. In spite of this, the state only gets 52% of the GST revenue that is collected.
Karnataka lost over ₹59,274 crore between 2017–18 and 2023–24 as a result of the GST’s haphazard implementation. Siddaramaiah claims that in 2023–24, the Centre collected more than ₹4.30 lakh crore in taxes, cesses, and surcharges from Karnataka, but only returned ₹50–53,000 crore, or just ₹12–13 for every ₹100 collected, of which ₹37,000 crore was collected as tax share and ₹13,005 crore for centrally sponsored schemes. “The budget of the union government has almost doubled in the last six years. The budget for 2018–19 was ₹24,42,213 crore, of which ₹46,288 crore went to Karnataka. The budget increased to ₹45,03,097 crore by 2023–24, while Karnataka only received ₹50,257 crore. Karnataka’s portion did not alter even after the budget doubled, he pointed out.
“The 15th Finance Commission suggested that Karnataka receive a special grant of ₹5,495 crore after acknowledging the great injustice done to the state. Nevertheless, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman—a Karnataka representative—rejected this suggestion. Karnataka consequently did not receive the money that were suggested,” he claimed. “From 2017–18 to the present, Karnataka has been denied its just portion of ₹1,87,867 crore because of the discriminatory policies of the central government. This sum exceeds by more than half the ₹3.24 lakh crore projected budget size for Karnataka. That is precisely equivalent to 57% of the budget for the current fiscal year (2024–25). This substantial financial loss has happened since the central administration led by the BJP came to power.”
The 15th Finance Commission also suggested spending ₹3,000 crore on developing water resources, including as lakes, and ₹3,000 crore on the Peripheral Ring Road in Bengaluru. The state lost over ₹11,495 crore as a result of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s rejection of these suggestions, he said.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman have unfairly distributed funds and levies to states led by opposition parties over the last ten years. Ironically, Nirmala Sitharaman, who was chosen by Karnataka to represent them in the Rajya Sabha, has behaved against the interests of the state. She lacks the moral authority to discuss Karnataka’s financial situation in light of her conduct,” he continued.
