CM Bommai \'habitual liar\': Congress

BENGALURU: On the eve of State budget to be presented by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, who also holds the finance portfolio, general secretary of All India Congress Committee (AICC) Randeep Singh Surjewala on Thursday lashed out at Chief Minister terming him a “habitual lair’ over his alleged failure to fulfill his budgetary promises of 2022-23.

While posing 10-questions to Bommai over his alleged unfulfilled budgetary promises, Randeep Singh Surjewala said that the State Budget which will be presented by Basavaraj Bommai on Friday would be a “Jumla” budget and stated the people of the State should ‘reject’ it.

With questions to Basavaraj Bommai, Surjewala in Bengaluru, asked the Chief Minister “Why is that out of 339 actionable promises, 207 remain as ornamental ‘government orders’ and 132 of the promises have not been implemented at all?.”

His another question to the CM was “Why government spent only 56 per cent of the budgetary allocations of the budget 2022-23?” Out of Rs 2.5 lakh crore allotted, Surjewala said, only Rs 1.4 lakh crore was spent and also alleged that Bommai failed to spend even 50 per cent of the promised Rs 3,000 crore for Kalyana Karnataka districts of the State.

Dwelling on the reservation, Surjewala alleged that Bommai deceived all the communities with “fake” promises and questioned “Why have Bommai and Prime Minister Narendra Modi not placed the enhanced Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Reservation Bill in the 9th schedule of the Constitution?

He also alleged that Bommai “deliberately” gave reservation to dominant Panchamasali Lingayats and Vokkaliga communities. In addition, Surjewala alleged that Bommai “backstabbed” Scheduled Castes, Kuruba and Other Backward Classes with ‘unfulfilled’ promises of reservation.  

Surjewala stated that the Vokkaliga Development Board and Bilava Kosha announced by the Chief Minister in 2022-23 failed to get actual funds. “Why has the ‘Shuchi Scheme’ not restarted,” he asked and the scheme was meant to benefit 19 lakh girls. Surjewala asked Bommai about his assurance of construction of a Kannada Bhavan in neighbouring State of Goa and questioned “Where is the Kannada Bhavan in Goa?”