Bengaluru, July 29 (IANS): Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara on Monday countered the charges of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, saying that no company has left the state due to the deteriorating law and order situation.
Addressing the media, Parameshwara stated, “The companies that come here always have one or two other options ready. They will consider Karnataka, Chennai, and Maharashtra and decide where to set up based on factors like tax structure, power priority, and availability of free land. They make their decisions based on these parameters.”
“No company has informed the government to date that they are moving out of the state,” he added.
“Allegations by the central government are not correct. Bengaluru city is the pride of the nation. The notion that Bengaluru's progress could be halted because it is in Karnataka is not a positive development. Bengaluru is a prestigious city in the country. It is a global city and should be developed on the lines of Mumbai and New Delhi,” Parameshwara maintained.
When asked about boycotting the NITI Aayog meeting, he said, “If we had participated, we would have also walked out of the NITI Aayog meeting like West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee. The question is how you deal with the states. The Constitution facilitates a federal structure.”
On Nirmala Sitharaman’s claims that Karnataka has not been treated unfairly in budget allocations and has received more funds during the NDA’s tenure, Parameshwara stated, “There is no meaning in comparing the UPA and NDA budgets without considering the total size of the budget.”
“The BJP allocated Rs 15,000 crore to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu. On what basis was this allocation made? We don’t object to the Centre making allocations as those states should also progress, but there should be a criterion,” he said.
“Development should take place equally. For Orissa, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, Rs 15,000 crore, Rs 26,000 crore, and Rs 11,000 crore were allotted respectively. On what basis were these allocations made? Karnataka has been shown a step-motherly attitude from the beginning, and that is what we are claiming,” Parameshwara stated.
“We reached New Delhi to demand fair allocations for the state, informing the central government that we are paying higher taxes and receiving less money. Even after all this, you deliver injustice to the state,” he slammed.
"They should have granted Rs 10,000 crore for Karnataka. They had announced that the Bhadra project would be declared a national project, but they did not do it. A grant of Rs 5,300 crore was declared for irrigation in that project, but it was not provided. The legitimate grants were not given at the appropriate time,” Parameshwara claimed.
“There is flooding in the state now. We had asked for Rs 12,000 crore for incurred losses up to Rs 36,000 crore during the drought. Later, they released about Rs 3,624 crore," he further said.
Nirmala Sitharaman had said on Sunday that Karnataka was suffering higher inflation than the national average under the current Congress government, and the law and order situation was driving away companies out of the state.