Highly Disappointing Budget Sidelines Karnataka, Says CM Siddaramaiah

Kalaburagi: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday slammed the Union Budget as “highly disappointing”, alleging that it had ignored Karnataka and weakened the spirit of cooperative federalism. He alleged that Karnataka had been repeatedly sidelined despite its strong economic contribution.

The Chief Minister said the Budget was heavy on grand narratives such as Viksit Bharat and Kartavya but lacked clarity on delivery, timelines and accountability.

“When Karnataka asked for fairness, this Budget delivered neglect. This Budget has not just neglected Karnataka, it has done injustice to its people,” Siddaramaiah stated.

The Chief Minister said the Budget was deeply disappointing for farmers and the rural economy, with no concrete measures for sugarcane growers, toor dal farmers and producers of pulses and food grains. He also expressed concern over the absence of accountability for farmer-centric announcements made in previous Budgets. “A Budget that fails to respond to rural distress cannot claim to be inclusive or growth-oriented,” he said.

On irrigation, Siddaramaiah said Karnataka’s aspirations had once again been ignored, with no approval for the Mekedatu project, non-release of promised funds for the Upper Bhadra project, and continued neglect of the Upper Krishna and Mahadayi projects. “Not a single major irrigation project of Karnataka has been accorded National Project status, denying the state critical support,” he said.

Criticising the proposed high-speed rail corridors, Siddaramaiah said the Hyderabad–Bengaluru and Chennai–Bengaluru routes would benefit neighbouring states more than Karnataka. He said the state’s genuine requirement was a Bengaluru–Mumbai or Bengaluru–Pune corridor to integrate technology, finance and manufacturing sectors. “Infrastructure should create balanced growth and shared prosperity, not advantage some states while burdening others,” he observed.

He further criticised the Centre for excluding Karnataka from the proposed Rare Earth Corridors despite the state having known deposits in Chamarajanagar and other regions.

“Strategic initiatives must be based on resource reality and cooperative federalism, not political convenience,” he said.

“This is a highly disappointing Budget and an equally disturbing outcome of the Finance Commission recommendations. Karnataka’s share of divisible taxes has been reduced to 4.131 percent, down sharply from 4.71 percent under the 14th Finance Commission. This is not an isolated decision but part of a consistent pattern of sidelining Karnataka, despite its strong economic contribution to the national exchequer. This reduction will result in an annual loss of Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 crore for the state, directly affecting our capacity to invest in welfare, infrastructure, irrigation and development,” Siddaramaiah said.

He added that a state that contributes so much to India’s growth deserves fairness, not repeated fiscal punishment.

“Continued erosion of Karnataka’s rightful share is deeply disturbing and undermines the very spirit of cooperative federalism. The speech is rich in intent but poor in fiscal commitment. Vision is announced, but execution is postponed,” he said.

Expressing disappointment over fiscal devolution, the Chief Minister said the Union Government has chosen to retain devolution at 41 percent without acknowledging the steadily increasing fiscal responsibilities of states. He pointed out that a growing portion of revenue was being raised through cesses and surcharges that are not shareable with states, while Centrally Sponsored Schemes were increasingly being funded by states themselves.

“We had legitimately expected the states’ share to be raised to at least 50 percet in the spirit of cooperative federalism. This has not been addressed. This is not merely about numbers in a Budget, but about ensuring fiscal balance, mutual trust, and respect for the constitutional role of states in building the nation,” he said.