Siddaramaiah slams BJP over Rs 2.7 lakh-crore ‘unfunded’ tenders | Bengaluru News
Bengaluru: Chief minister Siddaramaiah accused the previous BJP govt of plunging the state into a financial crisis by calling tenders worth Rs 2.7 lakh crore without proper allocation of funds. He raised the issue during his ongoing meetings with Congress legislators and ministers in charge of districts.“On top of that, Rs 1.6 lakh crore worth of work under the CM’s discretion was also tendered, and Rs 72,000 crore worth of work did not have a single rupee allocated,” Siddaramaiah said on Wednesday, the second day of his review meetings with legislators from seven districts, mainly from Kalyana-Karnataka region.He said his govt is working to correct this fiscal mismanagement. He added that in the current year alone, the state will bear an additional burden of Rs 1.1 lakh crore for guarantees and social welfare schemes. “We are also spending Rs 1.2 lakh crore on salaries and pensions after implementation of the 7th Pay Commission, Rs 83,200 crore for capital expenditure, and Rs 45,600 crore to service loans,” he said. “Despite this, we are providing Rs 50 crore to every assembly segment as special grants. I urge legislators to use it wisely and for the welfare of the people.”CMO officials clarified that while Congress MLAs would receive Rs 50 crore, opposition legislators are likely to get Rs 25 crore each.Reacting sharply, BJP state president BY Vijayendra questioned the allocation. “It has been a week since the CM made the announcement of Rs 50 crore to the Congress MLAs and Rs 25 crore, supposedly, for the opposition MLAs. Where are these grants?” he asked.He also took a swipe at Congress brass, highlighting visible cracks. “We see a clear difference between the CM and his deputy as the latter did not attend meetings with MLAs,” Vijayendra said. He also cited a recent incident where Shivakumar made an early exit from an event in Mysuru. “There is a clear division among Congress MLAs. They have lost confidence in the CM. Even the CM is trying to regain their trust by holding meetings with them,” he said.
