INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
offline, between BJP President Amit Shah and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah
Mr Shah, during his several visits to campaign for the party, has levelled a series of allegations against the Chief Minister
has fact-checked five of Mr Shah's main charges:1
the BJP what it has done for Karnataka I came to give accounts
Congress-led UPA granted Rs 88,583 crore under the 13th Finance Commission, while the NDA government, under the 14th Finance Commission,
sanctioned Rs 2.19 lakh crore" he said at a rally in Chitradurga in January.Under the 13th Finance Commission (2010-2015, roughly
corresponding to the tenure of UPA-2), the state received Rs 74,000 crore
During the 14th Finance Commission (2015-20, roughly matching the NDA's tenure) the state received Rs 2 lakh crore, numbers that broadly
correspond to Mr Shah's claim
He also cited tax growth, inflation and change in the formula of devolution as natural factors that would have led to the higher disbursal
Mr Shah has also raised the issue of farmer suicides
"While more than 3,500 farmers have committed suicide over the last four years, Siddaramaiah has termed it as a conspiracy
It's a pathetic and insensitive statement by the Chief Minister," Amit Shah said at a press conference in Mysuru in March.Data available
with National Crime Records Bureau, and responses to parliamentary questions as on March 20, 2018, show that 2,730 farmer suicides were
reported in Karnataka between 2013 and 2016 -- the years Mr Siddaramaiah has been in power.The data places the state second after
Maharashtra in farmer suicides
The next three states are Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Telangana
Among the top five states with highest farmer suicides, three are governed by the BJP."The latest figure on farmer suicides in Karnataka is
We have got the figures from the session of the Karnataka assembly held in Belgaum," said S Prakash from the BJP's Karnataka unit."We have
had unprecedented drought that we have not seen in the last 100 years
Congress spokesperson Dinesh Gundu Rao told .3
Mr Shah has alleged that under the government led by Mr Siddaramaiah, the budget for scholarships for minorities saw a 4-time spike while
there has been no increase in similar allocations for SCs and STs
"The height of Siddaramaiah's appeasement politics can be seen in his decision to sanction about Rs123 crore for the scholarship of SC ST
students against Rs 530 crore for the minorities
The budget for minorities has seen a four-time jump with no increase in budget for tribals," he said in a tweet.However, data collated from
Directorate of Minorities, Social Welfare Department and Tribal Welfare department shows there was a 44% increase in the budget of
scholarships for SCs and STs between 2017-18 and 2018-19, from Rs 497 crore to Rs 719 crore.The budget for minorities fell by 0.4% in the
Mr Shah also targeted Mr Siddaramaiah on Mysuru, considered the Chief Minister's home turf
"Mysuru is just 140 km from the state capital, yet it has failed to attract any major investment
In five years, the Chief Minister did nothing to fulfil his promise to widen Mysuru-Bengaluru roadway
It was PM Modi who fulfilled this long standing demand with a new 8-lane road," he said in a tweet.Data from Karnataka Udyog Mitra, a
Government of Karnataka initiative to promote and facilitate investments, revealed that between 2013-17, Mysuru has attracted investments
Some of the big investors include Pepsico-- 590 crore, Kingwood Decor-- Rs 700 crore, and Micro Labs-- Rs 200 crore.5
The case of the highway is more complex
Official records reviewed by (on the Press Information Bureau site, and from the PWD ministry in Karnataka) show the approval for the
upgradation of Mysuru-Bengaluru state highway into a national highway was done under the UPA 2.But it took the state government three years
to acquire 80% of the land
The final sanction of funds happened in May 2017 under the Modi government
Today it has become a national highway
There are land acquisition issues which are going on, but it will be done," Gundu Rao said
I am sure this project will be done in two years as promised by the central government
The contribution of the state government is very minimal in this," S Prakash from BJP told .
