Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar during the protest by the Karnataka Congress leaders against the Centre, at Jantar Mantar, in New Delhi. (PTI Photo)Karnataka Govt ‘Delhi Chalo’ protest Highlights: The Opposition-ruled Karnataka Government lashed out at the Centre alleging “injustice” to the State in ‘tax devolution and grants-in-aid, was not a show of strength, but the voice of the people of the State,” said Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said on Wednesday. The Congress party in Karnataka will hit the streets of the state and will fight it out if it continues the same way and the central government doesn’t address the concerns, he added.
It kicked off its protest in New Delhi against the Centre’s alleged biased fiscal policies toward the national capital. The entire Karnataka Ministry, led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, will stage a sit-in at Jantar Mantar today.
Siddaramaiah called his government’s ‘Chalo Delhi’ protest the first-ever by Karnataka against the fiscal policies of the Centre. In front-page ads splashed across newspapers in Karnataka on Tuesday, the Congress government said the protest was against “the financial atrocities committed by the Central government on Kannadigas and Karnataka”. The Congress announced a simultaneous social media campaign, with the hashtag ‘My Tax My Right’.
Meanwhile, the Kerala government, too, is expected to launch a protest against the Centre tomorrow. Kerala has accused the Centre of “slashing the state’s borrowing limit”, an issue on which it has also moved the Supreme Court. Last month, the state Cabinet took out a month-long tour against the Union government’s “anti-people” policies.
The Karnataka government also splashed full-page advertisements on several newspapers on Tuesday to publicise the 'Chalo Delhi' protest "against the financial atrocities committed by the Central Government on Kannadigas and Karnataka". (File Photo)
Watch | Finance Minister hits out at K'taka Govt
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman while hitting out at the Congress government in Karnataka, said, 'Using taxpayer's money the government has given a full page advertisement on national paper. The advertisement has six claims, however, two are false claims."
Stop creating narrative to divide country into north, south: PM to Cong
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday urged the Congress and its government in Karnataka to stop creating a narrative to divide the country into north and south saying it jeopardises the country's future.
Replying to the debate to the Motion of Thanks in the Rajya Sabha, he lamented that the Karnataka government was building such a narrative through advertisements. Modi was referring to the protest dharna by the Congress led by Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over alleged "injustice" meted out by the Centre on devolution of tax share to the state.
"Today I want to share my pain on a specific matter...The way language is being spoken these days to break the country, these new narratives are being made for political gains. An entire state is speaking this language, nothing can be worse for the country than this...what language have we started saying," he said.
Modi said such narratives were not good for the country and could jeopardise its future. (PTI)
Congress Govt in Karnataka has failed: BJP chief BY Vijayendra
During the protest in Vidhan Soudha, Karnataka BJP Chief BY Vijayendra said, 'Karnataka has never seen such an irresponsible government in the history of Karnataka politics. The Congress government has failed on all fronts and the guarantee schemes also. The government has not been able to do any development work. In fact, the development work has been completely halted in the state.'
Watch | Several BJP leaders detained outside Vidhan Soudha
Karnataka BJP leaders hold a protest at Vidhan Soudha in Bengaluru on Wednesday, against the Congress government over the alleged misuse of funds by them. Later, the protesters were detained the police.
Centre is doing injustice to the people of K'taka: Cong leader Jairam Ramesh
Congress leader Jai Ramesh said, "The people of Karnataka gave him a befitting reply by defeating BJP during the elections. Our PM couldn't stand it."
Karnataka Govt Protest Live: 'Karnataka is the economic powerhouse,' says Priyank Kharge
Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge said," There are four-five demands from the centre. Number one--the injustice we're facing with the devolution of taxes, number two-- 18,000 thousand crores that we were supposed to get in drought release, we're not getting that."
Karnataka stands second in tax collection, says CM Siddaramaiah
Speaking at the protest CM Siddaramaiah said, "Karnataka is number two as far as tax collection is concerned, Maharashtra is number one...Karnataka is contributing more than 4 lakh taxers...the state is contributing more than Rs 4.30 lakh crores as tax...If we collect Rs 100 as tax and give it to the Govt of India, we are only getting Rs 12-13 back, that is our share."
Karnataka Govt Protest Live: CM Siddaramaiah at Jantar Mantar
Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah along with Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and other Karnataka Congress leaders hold a protest against the central government at Delhi's Jantar Mantar.
Karnataka Govt Protest Live: CM Siddaramaiah and his supporters arrive at Jantar Mantar
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, his Deputy DK Shivakumar, along with hundreds of Congress workers and leaders from the southern state arrived at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi to protest against the Centre this morning.
Express Interview | ‘Everybody is fighting separately, but sooner or later, it (a South alliance) will evolve’: Priyank Kharge
The Karnataka Minister for Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and Information Technology, Priyank Kharge speaks to The Indian Express on the state government-led protest being held in Delhi on Wednesday, and why it was forced to take the step.
Excerpts: Q) What has prompted the Delhi protest led by Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and including the entire state Cabinet?
It is nothing new what we are saying. We said this even during our previous tenure – that the Central government has been unfair to Karnataka in spite of the state being the economic powerhouse of the country, whether it is GST collection, revenues or IT (Information Technology) that we deliver. We are always in the Top 3 bracket and, yet, somehow, we get short-changed when it comes to devolution of funds and taxes, even reimbursement for that matter. We are just asking for a fair devolution and redressal of our concerns.
Read more.
Karnataka Govt 'Delhi Chalo' Protest Live: BJP MPs protest against Karnataka govt outside Parliament
BJP Karnataka MPs held a protest in front of the Gandhi statue in Parliament on Wednesday morning over the alleged misuse of funds by the Karnataka government. "Congress is involved in corruption and is not running the administration properly, they have come here because of internal disputes, DK Shivakumar wanted to become the Chief Minister but could not do so. Due to internal conflict, they have come here against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi as he could not become the Chief Minister," BJP MP Lehar Singh said.
Karnataka Govt 'Delhi Chalo' Protest Live: Why is the Karnataka government protesting?
The Congress-ruled Karnataka government is all set to kick off its protest against the Centre's alleged biased fiscal policies in the National Capital today. According to a series of letters written by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and sent to all Union ministers and MPs from the state, the protest was against “the continuous injustice from the Central government and the step-motherly treatment meted to Karnataka.”
The protest on Wednesday is part of what the Karnataka Congress is describing as the ‘South Tax Movement’ on social media platforms. Several tweets with the hashtag were shared by Siddaramaiah and other ministers on X, formerly Twitter, and other online platforms.
The Karnataka government also splashed full-page advertisements on several newspapers on Tuesday to publicise the ‘Chalo Delhi’ protest “against the financial atrocities committed by the Central Government on Kannadigas and Karnataka”.
Welcome to our live blog!
Good morning and welcome to our live blog! We will be tracking the Karnataka government's protest against the Centre in New Delhi today. The entire Karnataka Ministry, led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, will stage a sit-in at Jantar Mantar today.
Stay tuned for more!