Planning to file suit against this: Siddaramaiah on PM's looting remarks

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "looted" allegation and said that the statement is to mislead the people to get votes and he is planning to file a suit against it.

Speaking to the media persons after attending the Kanakadasa Jayanthi event, in Bengaluru, CM Siddaramaiah said, "PM Modi is telling lies. It is to mislead the people to get votes. We will examine the legal angles. We are planning to file a suit against this."

Addressing a rally in Maharashtra earlier this month, PM Modi alleged that the Congress is "looting people" in Karnataka and the money is allegedly being used for campaigning in Maharashtra.

"In Karnataka, Congress lied and urged people to vote for them. They formed govt and were unable to fulfil their promises. Instead, they are running an extortion campaign in Karnataka. In Karnataka, scams are being unearthed every other day. It means that the Congress is looting people in broad daylight. Allegedly, Congress is using the same money to fight elections in Maharashtra. If we want to save Maharashtra, we need to keep Congress at bay," he said.

Further, he slammed Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy for not speaking for the state over tax devolution.

He said, "Did HD Kumaraswamy give any benefit to the poor? What moral right he have? The central government is not giving our due share. Did he ever speak for Karnataka in the tax devolution? NABARD comes under the Union Finance Minister. I had written the letter to PM and Union Finance Minister also to not do that."

Earlier on November 1, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that the state is "met with an injustice" on tax devolution, and added that the state contributes a lot in taxes but does not receive its fair share in return.

"Today Karnataka is met with an injustice in the tax devolution. We are second after Maharashtra. We are contributing 4 lakh crores in the form of taxes but we are getting less in return," he said during Rajyotsava Day being celebrated in Bengaluru.