Karnataka's Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah on Wednesday termed the Union budget 2023-24 as a continuation of the policy of "ameer ke saath, gareeb ka vinash" (supporting the rich, destroying the poor) followed by the central "trouble" engine government.
About sanction of Rs 5,300 crores for Upper Bhadra Project, he said the project needs Rs 23,000 crores for completion, and the Central government has agreed to give only a quarter of it. "If 40 per cent commission is taken off, the project will only get less than Rs 3,000 crore. It is not shown whether the sanctioned amount is for the period of one year or five years," he said.
He said Finance Minister Niramala Sitharaman, though elected from Karnataka, has completely neglected the state. Despite mentioning the name of Karnataka while presenting the budget she had not announced any new schemes or projects, Siddaramaiah said.
"The state government, which is acting as a slave to the central government, has totally failed to get attention towards the needs of the state," he added.