The Aryavarth Express
Agency(Karnataka): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah strongly affirmed the stability and robustness of the state’s Congress-led government. In a pointed rebuke directed at opposition BJP leaders, he accused them of intellectual bankruptcy and spreading falsehoods about the state’s financial health.
Siddaramaiah responded to allegations from the BJP claiming the state was nearing bankruptcy due to recent loans, suggesting instead that the BJP review its own previous government’s borrowing history. He detailed that under BJP’s Basavaraj Bommai, the state had accumulated significant debts: Rs 84,528 crore in 2020-21, Rs 67,332 crore in 2021-22, and Rs 72,000 crore in 2022-23, with Rs 43,580 crore spent on debt repayment in the last fiscal year alone.
The Chief Minister highlighted that from independence until 2018, Karnataka’s debt was Rs 2.42 lakh crore, which ballooned to Rs 5.40 lakh crore by 2023—an increase of Rs three lakh crore over five years. He challenged the BJP to acknowledge their role in this increase and to clarify their financial management to the public.
Siddaramaiah criticized the BJP’s focus on divisive issues rather than governance, accusing them of stoking communal tensions for political gain. He concluded by drawing a distinction between truth and falsehood, confident that the electorate would make the right choice in the upcoming elections.