‘Centre has borrowed Rs 165 lakh cr since Modi became PM’

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah told the Karnataka Assembly that since Narendra Modi became Prime Minister, the Central government has taken loans amounting to Rs. 165 lakh crore.

He stated that in 2014 the Centre’s debt stood at Rs. 53.11 lakh crore, which has now crossed Rs. 218 lakh crore in the 2026-27 budget. Siddaramaiah openly admitted that the state has borrowed Rs. 8,24,369 crore but sharply contrasted it with the Centre’s borrowings.

He pointed out that this year the Centre has borrowed Rs. 16.96 lakh crore while Karnataka has borrowed only Rs. 1.32 lakh crore.

He urged opposition members to understand these figures and criticised them for not being informed about the Centre’s debt.

On tax sharing, the Chief Minister proposed sending a delegation to the Centre after the session to address what he called injustice to the state and invited the opposition to join under their own leadership.

Regarding the Upper Bhadra Project, he reminded the House that the Centre had promised Rs. 5,300 crore, yet no funds have been released even after four budgets.

He also mentioned that when Basavaraj Bommai was Chief Minister, he had presented a budget claiming central grants would come and declared the project as a national project, but allegedly not a single Rupee has arrived till date.

Siddaramaiah described this as gross injustice and a major betrayal to Karnataka, adding that even BJP leaders should demand the pending Rs. 11,495 crore special grant.

He expressed strong anger against the Centre for not giving the state its rightful share and criticised attempts to silence those who raise the issue.