Karnataka CM’s guarantee scheme figures don’t add up, alleges BJP’s R Ashoka

Bengaluru, Alleging that figures presented by Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on the government's guarantee schemes during his Independence Day address contradict his own administration's official records, senior BJP leader R Ashoka has demanded a white paper detailing every rupee spent and every beneficiary covered.

Stating that Independence Day is a day to speak the truth to the people, not manufacture convenient numbers, the Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly said the CM owes the people of Karnataka an explanation.

"Guarantee Golmal: Karnataka's Numbers Don't Add Up. Even on Independence Day, Chief Minister D K Shivakumar chose to mislead the people of Karnataka with figures that contradict his own government's official records.This is no longer a question of political rhetoric. It is a basic question of public accountability and taxpayer money," Ashoka said in a post on 'X'.


Take Gruha Lakshmi, the scheme that provides Rs 2,000 monthly assistance to the woman head of every family, he said, "Official communications from the Karnataka government and the Guarantee Implementation Committee have put the beneficiary count at 1.24 crore (1,24,48,000). The Chief Minister's Office (CMO) itself cited the same figure on May 25, 2026. Yet, in the Independence Day address, CM D K Shivakumar claimed 1.28 crore beneficiaries." "Where did these additional 4 lakh beneficiaries suddenly come from? Who are they? Who authorised these additional payments? And most importantly, whose accounts received the money?" he asked.

Pointing at Shakti, the scheme providing free bus travel for women, the LoP said the CMO stated on June 11, 2026 that expenditure on the scheme stood at Rs 19,771 crore. An earlier CMO communication on May 25 put the figure at Rs 18,943 crore.

"But in the Independence Day speech, the CM cited expenditure of just Rs 14,875 crore. One government. One scheme. Three different numbers - with a difference running into thousands of crores," he said.

"So which figure is correct? Is former chief minister Siddaramaiah wrong? Is chief minister D K Shivakumar wrong? Or are the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Guarantee Implementation Committee wrong?" he questioned.

Ashoka said that Karnataka's taxpayers deserve an answer, not another misleading clarification.

"The government cannot spend public money through elaborate guarantee schemes while its own departments, ministers, official communications and implementation committees produce contradictory accounts," he said.

"If this is merely an accounting discrepancy, publish the corrected figures immediately.

If it is not, then the people of Karnataka deserve to know where every rupee went," he added.

Urging that the Congress government must stop treating Karnataka's taxpayers as people who can be dazzled by slogans and advertisements while the numbers remain unexplained, the BJP leader said that he and his party demand that the government issue a White Paper on the Guarantees detailing every rupee spent and every beneficiary covered.

He also urged the government to publish a complete, audited account of every Guarantee Scheme; release the exact beneficiary database and expenditure figures; and explain every discrepancy between government departments, the Guarantee Implementation Committee and the chief minister's own statements.