Cong missed opportunity to send message through budget: JDS

JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy on Tuesday said the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in Karnataka has missed an opportunity through the state budget to convince the people about the party’s relevance at a time when its position is deteriorating all across the country.

After the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Karnataka is the only major state where Congress is in power and “in this situation I had expected a lot from this budget,” Kumaraswamy said. Participating in the debate on the state budget in the Assembly, he said, “I expected that Congress through this budget will try and send a message to the people of this country and the state.”

Pointing out at BJP’s slogan of Congress free India, he said “our friends in BJP say they are creating a Congress free India and will work towards Congress free Karnataka. “I’m saying all this out of concern for you, I’m worried for you,” he said mocking at Congress members.

He said the Chief Minister, with his rich experience on fiscal matters, had a great opportunity to strengthen the party through this budget. Speaking on fiscal responsibility of the government, he said if Congress claimed credit for financial discipline, it should also be blamed for financial indiscipline.

As Kumaraswamy rose to speak on the budget, he first lambasted the government for its lack of seriousness in handling sensitive issues and referred to ‘mistakes’ in the statements of the Chief Minister and Home Minister to the assembly on IAS officer D K Ravi’s mysterious death. Members of the treasury benches objected to this and asked him not to deviate from the topic of discussion.

As JD(S) and BJP members stood to defend Kumaraswamy for raising the issue, war of words broke out between both sides. Kumaraswamy criticised the Chief Minister for taking more and more loans and putting the burden on the people, which he used to object while in opposition.