'Growing Injustice': Karnataka Congress Stages 'Chalo Delhi' Protest Over Funds

Karnataka Chief Minister and Congress leader Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, and several other Congress ministers, MLAs, and MLCs from Karnataka staged a demonstration at New Delhi's Jantar Mantar on Wednesday, 7 February, in protest against the Centre's "economic oppression of Karnataka."

The leaders blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government for Karnataka's reduced share in devolution of taxes, the delay in providing GST compensation and implementation of infrastructural projects, and the dismissal of special grants recommended by the Finance Commission, among others.

The protest called 'Chalo Delhi' "is not just a political movement but also a social movement against the deliberate and systematic attack on the identity of Kannadigas," Deputy CM DK Shivakumar told the media at Jantar Mantar on Wednesday.

"Overall, Karnataka has lost Rs 1,87,867 crore since 2017-18 due to the [central government's] step-motherly treatment towards Karnataka," Siddaramaiah said addressing the gathering.

'Unscientific Implementation of GST': What DK Shivakumar Said 

Addressing the media at Jantar Mantar, DK Shivakumar said that "the implementation of GST, which was promised to be a boon, has turned into a bane due to the discontinuation of compensation in June 2022."

"This abrupt halt has severely crippled our fiscal health, making it a Herculean task to regain the tax collection growth rate of 15 percent that we once proudly maintained."

CM Siddaramaiah added that Karnataka has lost about Rs 59,274 crore due to the "unscientific implementation" of GST.

"Our government has written 3 letters to the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to seek an update on the GST compensation, but unfortunately, we have not received any response from her," he added.

The government claimed that "despite Karnataka's substantial contribution of Rs 4,30,000 crore in tax revenue every year, we receive just about Rs 50,000 crore from the Union government."

"Moreover, as the Union Budget size has doubled, one would expect a proportional increase in our share. Contrarily, it has more than halved. This decline is not just numbers on paper, it is a growing injustice against the people of Karnataka."

DK Shivakumar, Deputy CM of Karnataka

'Finance Commission's Special Grant Dismissed'

The Karnataka government further alleged that the 15th Finance Commission's recommendation of a special grant of Rs 5,495 crore for Karnataka "was unceremoniously dismissed."

"The same 15th Finance Commission had also recommended Rs 3,000 crore for Bengaluru Peripheral Ring Road and Rs 3,000 crore for the development of lakes in Bengaluru. Even this recommendation was rejected."

Dismissing the BJP's narrative that the protest at Jantar Mantar is "a desperate attempt to fund" the Congress government's poll guarantees in Karnataka, he said:

"Karnataka's financial health is robust, and our commitment to these schemes is unwavering, not out of necessity, but out of a deep-seated belief in social justice and equity."

Shivakumar further said that the centre has turned a blind eye to the state's water security.

"In these trying times, when our state grapples with severe drought, affecting 223 out of 236 taluks, the central government's response to our plea for Rs 17,901 crore in compensation has been disheartening. Our farmers suffer, our lands parch, yet the assistance we urgently seek remains a distant dream," he alleged.