Bengaluru, May 19 (IANS) Union Minister for Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs Pralhad Joshi slammed Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday, accusing him of indulging in political theatrics by claiming that Rs 4,195 crore in grants are pending from the Centre.

Joshi alleged that instead of accepting the financial mismanagement, administrative failures, and inefficiency of his government, Siddaramaiah is making baseless accusations against the Centre.

Union Minister Joshi further stated that Siddaramaiah has failed to fulfil the promises made to the public.

Calling the complaint about the Rs 4,195 crore pending grants mere drama, Joshi said that under various centrally sponsored schemes like PMAY (Rural), Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban), AMRUT, Poshan, and Samagra Shiksha, over Rs 5,000 crore is still lying unutilised.

He advised the Karnataka government to first utilise these funds properly.

“If the funds already released by the Centre have been fully used and there are specific schemes where additional funds have been withheld, Siddaramaiah should clearly mention them. Otherwise, simply alleging that the Centre is not releasing funds is nothing more than hollow rhetoric,” Joshi stated.

Union Minister Joshi also accused the state government of failing to spend even the funds that have already been released.

“Even Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar had earlier admitted that Rs 40,000 crore was needed to fulfil the Congress party’s popular guarantees. He openly accepted that there is no money left for development in their government,” he said.

Referring to a previous statement by Siddaramaiah’s Economic Advisor, Basavaraj Rayareddy, in January 2024, Union Minister Joshi pointed out that even he had raised concerns that Rs 58,000 crore was being earmarked for unsustainable guarantees, which confirms financial misuse.

“The Congress government must stop making baseless allegations against the Centre. It should instead focus on effectively utilising the substantial funds already at its disposal,” he said.

Earlier, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah stated that the Central government has not yet released around Rs 4,195 crore, which is its pending share for centrally sponsored schemes.

He had urged the Members of Parliament and Rajya Sabha members from the state to pressure the Centre to release the outstanding funds.

–IANS

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