Bengaluru, Jul 13: Justifying his budgetary proposal to hike taxes on fuel, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy has claimed that such a move was necessary to mobilise resources for the farm loan-waiver scheme.
Congress Legislature Party chairman and his predecessor, Siddaramaih, had written to Mr. Kumaraswamy requesting reconsideration of the proposal to increase tax on fuel. Newly appointed State Congress president Dinesh Gundu Rao had argued that increasing fuel price would go against his party’s national stance.
However, on the floor of the House on Thursday, it was Mr. Rao who came to the rescue of Mr. Kumaraswamy when he asserted his decision to hike tax on petrol and diesel. Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Krishna Byre Gowda also took on the Opposition BJP on the issue of waiver of farm loans and stood by the Chief Minister. Ministers, including Priyank Kharge, R.V. Deshpande and D.K. Shivakumar, also lent their support in Mr. Kumaraswamy’s effort to defend the coalition government’s budget.
Mr. Rao countered the BJP’s argument by stating that the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre had increased fuel price nearly 11 times in the last four years, despite fuel price falling in the international market. Mr. Kumaraswamy said, “The price of fuel is lower in Karnataka than in BJP-governed States. There was no other option but to rise the tax to balance the fiscal deficit.” Defending his stand on increasing tax on power consumption, the Chief Minister said the burden on the consumer would be minimum.
Criticising the policies of the Centre, Mr. Gowda said the Union government’s minimum support price (MSP) on certain commodities was “poll oriented”. Despite promising to implement the Swaminathan Committees Report on MSP in the run-up to 2014 elections, the government had hiked the MSP on 14 kharif crops when only a few months were left for the Lok Sabha elections, he said. Not satisfied with the Chief Minister’s reply, BJP members staged a walkout.
Anna Bhagya
Amid demand from several legislators of the ruling coalition as well as those from the Opposition BJP seeking withdrawal of the proposal to reduce the quantum of rice being provided to BPL card holders under the Anna Bhagya scheme from 7 kg to 5 kg a month, Kumaraswamy on Thursday did not commit on the demand firmly and said he would “review” it.
While the monthly quota of rice of 7 kg is proposed to be brought down to 5 kg, the State had planned to increase the monthly quota of toor from half a kg per family to half a kg per person besides reintroducing fortified salt and oil, to increase the quality of the food basket under the Anna Bhagya scheme.
However, legislators, cutting across party lines, had sought restoration of the quantum of rice. Siddaramaiah, who introduced the scheme, had written to Mr. Kumaraswamy expressing his opposition to the proposal.
Sources close to the Chief Minister, however, said the State government was likely to withdrawal of the proposal to reduce the quantum of rice in the coming days.
“To do this, the quantum of toor has to be brought down. It would have not gone down well with the Opposition,” sources said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Kumaraswamy, in his reply to the discussion on the budget in the Legislative Assembly, said the number of ration cards had gone up from 1 crore to 1.29 crore.
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