Bengaluru, Sep 24 Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara on Thursday rejected the BJP’s allegation that the Congress government had pushed the state towards financial crisis, saying the Finance Department’s caution on new projects should not be construed as the government being “bankrupt.”
“The Opposition said the government has become bankrupt. It is not bankruptcy as you have said,” Parameshwara said in the Legislative Assembly.
His remarks came a day after BJP leaders staged a protest at the Vidhana Soudha, alleging that the Congress government was pushing Karnataka towards a financial crisis and failing to deliver on development.
Explaining the Finance Department’s observations, Parameshwara said Karnataka’s fiscal deficit for 2026-27 was projected at 2.95 per cent, against the three per cent limit permitted under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) framework.
“The fiscal deficit for 2026-27 is 2.95 per cent, while the limit permitted under the FRBM is only three per cent,” he said.
He said the state’s revenue deficit stood at Rs 22,957 crore, while cumulative liabilities had reached 24.94 per cent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), close to the 25 per cent level.
“It should be 25, and it has touched 24.94. Isn’t this a warning,” Parameshwara asked.
He said the Finance Department’s caution was an advisory to ensure fiscal discipline and did not mean that the government lacked funds.
“For any government, the Finance Department, too, has to say — Please, don’t overstep. Don’t announce a programme somewhere and say that you will spend money according to your wishes — ,” he said.
Parameshwara also read out the department’s observation that it would be difficult to fund new projects until additional resource mobilisation or reallocation from already approved allocations was finalised.
“Further, before finalising additional resource mobilisation or reallocation from already approved allocations, it would be difficult to fund new projects. Hence, it would be better to wait for some more time, that is, until the resources for taking up the new projects are finalised. This is an advisory,” he said.
The BJP protest was led by state president B Y Vijayendra, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R Ashoka and Leader of Opposition in the Council Chalavadi Narayanaswamy.
The protest followed a Finance Department note on a proposal for the Chief Minister’s Rural Road Connectivity Scheme, estimated to cost Rs 10,000 crore, cautioning that taking up a major project without budgetary provision or earmarked funds could create cash-flow and fiscal-management challenges.
The department had also noted that the balance cost of ongoing works exceeded Rs 2 lakh crore, while pending bills in four major departments — Public Works, Water Resources, Minor Irrigation and Rural Development and Panchayat Raj — totalled Rs 36,136 crore.
Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who also holds the finance portfolio, on Tuesday said there was nothing wrong with the department cautioning the government, as it was acting in its interest.
(PTI News)
