Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that he has submitted Karnataka's list of demands to the Union Government ahead of the Budget presentation for the financial year 2025-26 by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday.
The Union Government has released tax devolution of Rs 1,73,030 crore to State Governments today, as against the devolution of Rs 89,086 crore in December 2024.
Addressing a rally in Maharashtra earlier this month, PM Modi alleged that the Congress is "looting people" in Karnataka and the money is allegedly being used for campaigning in Maharashtra.
Celebrating the 69th Karnataka Foundation day on Friday, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that the state is "met with an injustice" on tax devolution, saying that the state contributes a lot in taxes but does not receive their fair share in return.
State governments across India are expected to face tighter finances in FY25, as grants-in-aid from the Centre are projected to decline by 6.3 per cent, highlighted a report by NSE.
The Union Government has recently released tax devolution to the state governments in which Karnataka got Rs 6,498 crore, which the Karnataka Congress leaders have argued is low compared to other states.
The decision was taken in view of the upcoming festive season and to enable States to accelerate capital spending, and also finance their development/welfare-related expenditure, as per the statement.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has written a letter to the Chief Ministers of eight states regarding the unfair devolution of taxes by the Union government.
The Senate Functional Committee on Devolution chaired by Pakistani Senator Zarqa Suharwardy Taimur expressed severe concerns about the functioning of IPPs and the lack of transparency in their contracts.
"People of Delhi gave Rs 2.25 lakh crore as taxes to the central government last year. Just see, how much money was given to the Delhi government by the central government from that money. It was zero. Nothing was given to the Delhi government," Atishi said while speaking to ANI on Friday.
Revenue of India's top states, which account for over 90 per cent of India's gross state domestic product, is likely to grow at a steady pace of 8-10 per cent this current financial year 2024-25, according to an analysis by rating agency Crisil Ratings.
With a coalition government at the Centre, the demand for special status by states like Bihar and Andhra Pradesh is again in focus. Modi 3.0 will be under pressure from their two important coalition partners JDU from Bihar and TDP from Andhra Pradesh to grant special status to their states.