Bengaluru, March 6 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday staged a protest near the Vidhana Soudha alleging that the State Budget presented by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was like an “empty pot”.

The protest was led by BJP state President and MLA B.Y. Vijayendra, Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly R. Ashoka, Deputy Leader Arvind Bellad, Chief Whip of the Opposition in the Legislative Council N. Ravikumar, along with former ministers, MLAs and Members of the Legislative Council.

The protesters held placards stating that the Congress government had given “empty pots” to Kannadigas and symbolically displayed empty pots during the demonstration.

They raised slogans condemning the government, accusing it of betraying the youth and burdening the state with a debt of Rs 3.5 lakh crore in the last three years. The protesters also shouted slogans such as “Down with the government that cheated the youth”, “Down with the government that incurred Rs 3.5 lakh crore debt in three years”, and “The budget itself is an empty pot budget”.

They also raised slogans targeting Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, alleging that he had given “empty pots” to the people of the state and to Kannadigas. The protesters further accused the government of offering nothing to farmers, chanting slogans against what they termed an “empty pot” for farmers as well.

MLA and former Deputy Chief Minister C.N. Ashwath Narayan criticised the State Budget presented by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday, stating that it is not reassuring in any way.

He said the budget does not benefit any sector, whether it is quality education, quality healthcare services, farmers or the welfare of the poor and Dalits. According to him, the budget has created widespread disappointment.

Responding to a question, he said Siddaramaiah, who is considered a financial expert, has presented a deficit budget, which is extremely disappointing. He further alleged that the Congress government has borrowed Rs 4.40 lakh crore since coming to power, increasing the debt burden without incorporating elements that would support development.

MLA Sunil Kumar also criticised the State Budget presented by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday, calling it an “anti-coastal” budget.

He alleged that the government has betrayed the coastal districts. He said several demands related to issues in the coastal region had been placed before the government.

“We had urged the government to give priority to tourism in the coastal region and provide a special package. However, the government has not presented any clear plan for the development of coastal tourism in the budget,” he said.

He further said that demands had been made for the establishment of a medical college in Udupi district and an agriculture college at Brahmavara.

“Transforming the agriculture diploma college at Brahmavara would not require a large amount of funds; only a government order was needed. Even that has not been fulfilled, which has caused disappointment,” he said.

He also pointed out that during the previous government’s tenure, several vented dams had been constructed under the West Flowing Rivers project in Mangaluru and Udupi districts.

“We had demanded the continuation of the West Flowing Rivers project to improve irrigation and groundwater levels, but that too has been ignored. The coastal region has been completely neglected,” he alleged.

–IANS

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