CM Siddaramaiah, DCM DK Shivakumar arrive in Delhi, gear up to protest against Centre over tax devolution

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar along with other officials including state Home Minister G Parameshwara on Tuesday arrived in the national capital ahead of the ‘Chalo Delhi’ protest set to be held today.

The leaders reached Delhi airport late on Tuesday night and geared up for the protest at Jantar Mantar against the Central leadership over issues such as tax devolution and resource distribution.

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Several Karnataka Congress leaders have alleged “injustice” to the southern state by the Centre over a reduction in tax devolution, which CM Siddaramaiah claimed has given way to a loss of more than ₹45,000 crore to the state in the last four years.

Later, he stepped up the attack on the Narendra Modi-led government in the Centre, saying that the state has incurred a total loss of ₹1.87 lakh crore during five years under the 15th finance commission due to declining Central grants.

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In view of this, DCM DK Shivakumar, who is also the Karnataka Congress' chief, said, “The entire government will protest, all MLAs should forget party lines and participate. We all have to fight together for the good of the state. We are in a union system. We have been in cooperation with the central government, but we continue to be treated unfairly by the centre. We didn't get proper relief even during COVID-19, we didn't get grants even during heavy rains. ₹5300 crore was not given for the Bhadra Meldande project. This is not a protest against BJP. Instead, it is a protest against the discriminatory attitude in financial distribution and drought relief.”

As many as 135 Congress MLAs, 28 MLCs, one Lok Sabha MP, and five Rajya Sabha MPs are set to participate in the protest today.

(With inputs from ANI)