Newly-elected MP Basavaraj Bommai has said that the asset monetisation programme of the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in the State is proof enough of its bankruptcy.
Speaking to presspersons in Gadag on Tuesday, Mr. Bommai said that the Congress government which came to power in the name of poor has betrayed them by increasing various duties and taxes.
He said that during times of financial distress, families sell their ancestral property as a last resort and similarly, the State government has now reached its last resort. The government’s plan to monetise the State’s assets is proof enough of the financial crisis it is in. Never before has any government taken such a step, he said.
Mr. Bommai said that according to the Principal Secretary of the Finance Department the scheme facilitated monetizing assets through private partnerships, which means that the scheme will benefit real estate groups by thousands of crores of rupees, thereby leading to large-scale corruption.
Irrespective of the Chief Minister’s justification, it is evident that the State’s fiscal position is in the doldrums and the Congress government is betraying the people of the State with such deals, he said. The BJP will launch a mass movement against it, he added.
Mr. Bommai, who is a former Chief Minister, said that the State government has already borrowed ₹1.05 lakh crore through the budget and imposed a new tax burden of around ₹20,000 crore on the poor people. He also urged the Chief Minister to publicise these details.
He said that Mr. Siddaramaiah having presented 15 budgets claims to be a financial expert but he has appointed two economic advisors. The government, which has hired a firm by name Boston, has taken such a big decision on monetisation based on its recommendation. Instead of taking such advices, it should cancel the contract now itself, he said.
