Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah presented a record 16th state budget Friday - a balancing act, as all budgets are - between funding for welfare programmes and promises the Congress made before the 2023 Assembly election, and keeping a lid on borrowings and the overall deficit.
The budget kept some key consumables - car prices, for example - unchanged, but this has meant a slight uptick in borrowings, from Rs 1.05 lakh crore last year to Rs 1.16 lakh crore this.
But that, and increased provisions for minority communities, including Rs 150 crore for state Waqf boards and hiked honorariums for Sikh, Jain, and Muslim religious leaders to a minimum of Rs 5,000 per month, have drawn "appeasement over development" barbs from the opposition - the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Janata Dal (Secular), a former Congress ally.
The BJP's Karnataka X handle was heavily critical of allocations to the Muslim community, including reservations, cash assistance for weddings, and Rs 50 lakh for cultural programmes.
"Congress' Appeasement Blueprint"
The BJP's state unit chief, BY Vijayendra, pointed to farmers struggling with debts and failed crops and called the budget a "Congress blueprint for appeasement, not progress".
"... rural Karnataka suffers from lack of roads, power, and irrigation. Hostels for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students remain underfunded and youth are deprived of skill development and jobs... Congress has prioritised "appeasement over real development."
He also slammed funding for the state's Moulana Azad schools.
Karnataka Budget 2025-26: A Congress Blueprint for Appeasement, Not Progress!
— Vijayendra Yediyurappa (@BYVijayendra) March 7, 2025
While farmers struggle with debts & crop losses, rural Karnataka suffers from lack of roads, power & irrigation, SC/ST hostels remain underfunded, youth are deprived of skill development & jobs,…
"Rs 1.16 lakh crore borrowed, Rs 90,428 crore fiscal deficit and yet... Congress spends on selective appeasement instead of empowering all! Where is the budget for real growth?"
"Farmers, youth & rural Karnataka are left behind while Congress focuses only on its vote bank. This is not governance, this is a betrayal of Karnataka's future," he declared in an X post.
The BJP's R Ashoka, the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, and BS Yediyurappa, the former Chief Minister, both also slammed the budget as "visionless and haphazard", and mocked Siddaramaiah - whose term runs till 2028 - as an "outgoing Chief Minister".
"Modern Muslim League Budget"
Meanwhile, BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari slammed the increased honorarium and the grant of Rs 150 crore for renovation of state Waqf properties, as well as for upkeep of Muslim burial grounds, as the highlight of a "modern Muslim League budget".
The jab was seen as an echo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remark about the Congress' Lok Sabha election manifesto; Mr Modi had said it "reflects the thoughts of Muslim League".
The increased honorarium for Islamic leaders, and Waqf board grants, also comes amid a row at the centre between the opposition and the BJP. The two are arguing over amendments to the Waqf Bill. The proposed changes include nominating non-Muslims to state and central boards.
Scam CM @siddaramaiah in Karnataka presents a Halal Budget—appeasement at its peak!
— BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) March 7, 2025
🕌 Reservation for Muslims in government contracts
🕌 ₹50,000 assistance for Muslim simple marriages
🕌 ₹150 crore for infrastructure development of Waqf properties & graveyards
🕌 ₹50 lakh… pic.twitter.com/Ts3ZrnYai1
The changes were presented to a joint parliamentary committee and, amid fresh controversy, including opposition members saying their views were refused, eventually 14 alterations were accepted last month by the centre. The new bill will likely be tabled in Parliament this month.
The JDS' HD Kumaraswamy called it a "budget of betrayal" in his X post. "This is the true face of the Congress' Karnataka government budget - appeasement over development!"
Congress Hits Back
Priyank Kharge led the fightback for the Congress, mocking an "incompetent" BJP for protesting what he and other party leaders have called a "historic" budget. Mr Kharge's colleague, Dinesh Gundu Rao, accused the BJP of willfully ignoring the good work of the Congress government.
"They cannot look at the good work we are doing... it's a very balanced budget. We have done everything possible. My health department has received tremendous attention," he said.
The party has also pointed to Rs 42,018 crore set aside for SC and ST communities, and that reservation for infrastructure works and public services by contractors from these groups had been increased to Rs 2 crore. Attention was also drawn to grants to other religious communities - Rs 100 crore each for Jains, Buddhists, and Sikhs, and Rs 250 crore for Christians.
Karnataka Budget
Grants and allowances, including those promised by the Congress during campaigning, were the focus of this budget. These included Rs 2,000 per month for eligible women beneficiaries, free rides for women in state-run buses, and free electricity (up to 200 units per month).
Overall, Rs 51,034 crore has been aside for such guarantees, but this, the Congress has stressed, does not take fiscal deficit over the norm of three per cent of the state's GDP.
Among other significant announcements were priority to infrastructure development in Bengaluru, whose residents labour through monstrous daily traffic jams and face crippling annual water and electricity shortages. The city will receive Rs 7,000 crore for this year.
Also, the city's municipal body, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, has been guaranteed Rs 19,000 crore towards fast-travel corridors and the Metro will get Rs 8,916 crore.
With input from agencies
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