"Raw deal in budget": Karnataka to boycott July 27 Niti Aayog meet to be chaired by PM

Karnataka has decided to boycott Niti Aayog meeting scheduled for July 27 in Delhi to protest what Chief Minister Siddaramaiah called “raw deal” to the state in the budget Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair the meeting.

While the CM posted the decision in a post on X, Deputy CM DK Shivakumar defended the decision, on Thursday, saying there was no point in attending the NITI Aayog meeting when it lacked “neeti” (fairness). “Karnataka has got a raw deal in the Union Budget. The State has not got any projects and the budget has not served its interests, he told the media, adding that the state would not only boycott the meeting, but would stage a protest instead.


The chief minister said despite his efforts in calling for an all-party MPs meeting in New Delhi to discuss Karnataka's essential needs and (conveying the same to the Union Government), the budget neglected the state's demands. “Finance Minister @nsitharaman, who also attended the meeting, has ignored the concerns of the people of Karnataka. We don't feel Kannadigas are heard, and hence there is no point in attending the NITI Aayog meeting,” Siddaramaiah said.

Even our farmers' demands to approve Mekedatu and Mahadayi river projects have been ignored. “There was no attempt to rectify their sin of reducing funds to our state under various categories. Funds for metro and other infra projects are still a distant dream,” the post said.

Modi, he said, was unable to see states other than Andhra Pradesh and Bihar because his eyes were set on retaining the PM’s position. “His agenda is exposed in front of the people. We hope the people of our state stand with us in our fight for justice.”

Members of the 16th Finance Commission will visit the state on August 28, during which the state will present its position and request it to reverse the injustice meted out in the past. All measures are being taken to present the issue effectively, the CM said.

Opposition leader R Ashoka slammed the CM's decision to keep off the NITI Aayog meeting calling it a disgrace and insulting to 6.5 crore people of the State and the mandate given by them. Governance and development should remain above party politics, he said and added it was unfortunate a senior leader like him had been forced to dance to the tunes of Rahul Gandhi to save his position.

"BENGALURU GOT NOTHING"
The union budget has not given anything to Bengaluru, despite the city and surrounding constituencies electing five BJP MPs and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman representing Karnataka in the Rajya Sabha, Aarin Capital chairman TV Mohandas Pai said, joining the sentiments of the leaders of the ruling Congress.

He also mentioned Bengaluru voted for the BJP in the assembly polls last year and is among the highest contributors to the federal taxes yet got nothing in return in the budget.

Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah and Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin would be very upset as there is no mention of the South except Andhra Pradesh. The budget has totally ignored the South, except Andhra Pradesh, sparking a potential political friction, which is totally avoidable, he told ET.

South India would be agitated at being ignored and eventually losing political clout as well. The union government must balance the interests of north and south India. “We don’t want a division of the country as Hindi and non-Hindi regions,” Pai said, while urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to rectify these shortcomings during his reply to the debate on the budget in the Parliament.