Union Minister Pralhad Joshi dismisses Karnataka's claims of tax 'injustice'

Hubballi (Karnataka): Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Pralhad Joshi, commenting on the criticism by the Congress leaders over alleged tax injustice to Karnataka by the Centre, said that the NDA has provided twice as much funding to the state when compared to the UPA era.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Joshi accused the Congress government of blaming the central government for its failures in managing finances properly.

He defended that the NDA government led by the BJP, has provided twice as much funding to the state compared to the UPA era.

Joshi explained that it is not the central government that decides the allocation of funds to states, but the Finance Commission. The Centre has provided the amount decided by the Commission, he clarified.

He reminded that during 2016-17, when Siddaramaiah was the Chief Minister, the Finance Commission had already determined the allocation of funds. If the state felt it was being treated unfairly, they should have presented their arguments properly in front of the Commission at that time. Now, they are making a fuss after remaining silent earlier, he retorted.

Joshi further stated that the current Chief Minister himself has acknowledged mistakes made by officials within his own government. He advised that the state should present a proper argument in front of the Finance Commission now.

The Finance Commission is reconstituted every five years, and it has been reformed again. Joshi suggested that the state should properly present its needs before the new Finance Commission.

Joshi emphasised that the NDA government has provided more financial assistance to the state than the UPA government did.

He stated that Karnataka received a grant of Rs 49,000 crore during the UPA regime, whereas the NDA government has provided Rs 3 lakh crore. In terms of tax allocation, the UPA only gave Rs 63,000 crore, while the NDA government has released Rs 3.25 lakh crore in tax share, he added.

Joshi mocked Congress, saying that if anything good happens in the state, they claim it’s because of them, but if something bad happens, they blame the BJP. "Even with the recent heavy rains, they didn’t claim BJP made it rain, and that's a relief!" he joked.