Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramiah has allocated a whopping 10 crore rupees for collecting intelligence during the year 2018, when the state goes for assembly polls. A report in Times Now has stated that the Karnataka CM allocated these funds in a supplementary budget.
Your cash for their whims | Taxpayers’ money squandered in Karnataka | Karnataka government’s strategy ahead of polls | ₹1000 Lakhs for Intel gathering | Ground report by @dpkBopanna in conversation with @MeghaSPrasadpic.twitter.com/aqbc4qOY4k
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) February 23, 2018
This has raised several questions on why did the state government allocate high additional funds in the year when the state is undergoing assembly elections.
CM Siddaramiah had presented the last state budget of his term last Friday. Since then he had presented three supplementary budget estimates in the assembly. The third installment of these supplementary estimates was tabled in the assembly on Wednesday for 5351.49 crores rupees.
Questions were raised on the necessity of three supplementary estimates, but the Home Minister of Karnataka justified it saying every state does it.
In the past, the BJP had alleged that the Siddaramiah government is tapping phones of BJP leaders in the state. The Congress government in the state had denied such allegations. BJP leader R Ashok had earlier alleged that the Sidaramiah government is misusing the state machinery to tap the phones of political opponents. Replying to those allegations, Siddaramiah came up with claims that it was the central government that tapped phones and his government had never indulged in such activities.
As Karnataka gears up for Assembly elections later this year, allocation of such funds for the sole purpose of ‘intelligence gathering’ has raised several questions on the intention of the Congress government.
