Karnataka BJP hails Union Budget; Oppn terms it as schemes to 'fool' people

Bengaluru: Leaders of ruling BJP in Karnataka, including Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and his cabinet colleagues, on Wednesday, hailed the Union budget 2023-24, while the opposition termed it "promises" to fool the people.

The first budget of Amrit Kaal presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is futuristic, growth oriented and has laid a strong foundation for India@100 in 2047. It has focused on every sector and will benefit every section of society giving an impetus to the Aatmanibhar Bharat vision, Dr K. Sudhakar, State Minister for Health, said.

"I thank PM Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for central assistance of Rs 5,300 crore for the Upper Bhadra Project.

This will immensely benefit the people of Chikkamagaluru, Chitradurga, Tumkur and Davangere districts by providing irrigation facilities to farmers and recharging the groundwater table to provide -drinking water in drought-prone taluks of these districts," he said.

"The Economic Survey 2023 tabled in the Parliament on Tuesday showed that the central and state governments' budgeted expenditure in the health sector reached 2.1 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2022-23.

This is in the direction of the vision of National Health Policy - 2017, which has envisaged increasing the government's health expenditure to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2025. The share of government's health expenditure in total health outlay has increased from 28.6 per cent in 2014 to 40.6 per cent in 2019.

Thanks to Ayushman Bharat, the out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) as a share of total health expenditure has come down to 48.2 per cent in 2019 from 64.2 per cent in 2014," he said.

The budget proposal to establish 157 new nursing colleges in co-location with the existing 157 medical colleges established since 2014 is a welcome move to address the increasing human resource needs in the healthcare sector, he said.

The special focus on promoting millets will not only ensure better nutrition and health among citizens but will also boost our fight against climate change. This is a great step towards ensuring food and water security for our future generations, Minister Sudhakar stated.

Karnataka Minister for Power, Kannada and Culture V. Sunil Kumar described the Union budget as balanced and prepared keeping the interests of the middle class in mind.

Seven priority zones have been identified as 'Saptahrshi' against the backdrop of Azadi Amrit Mahotsav. To ensure green revolution, the PM Pranam scheme has been announced. The proposal to invest Rs 6,000 crore will play an important role in development of the coastal region, Minister Sunil Kumar explained.

The target set for the state governments to produce five MMT green hydrogen by 2030 and decision to invest Rs 25,000 is welcome. This has increased the responsibility of the states, he explained.

Meanwhile, JD(S) leader and former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy dubbed the Union budget 2023 as a lure to fool people. "It seems the projects have been announced to fool people in the election year," he said.

The projects announced would be implemented only after a change of government at the centre. "I had written a letter long ago to consider projects announced in the budgets as national projects. When will the programmes announced in the election year be implemented? Kumaraswamy questioned.

People know how much of the announced fund for the Upper Bhadra project would be given to the state once BJP is defeated in the state.

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Finance Minister Sitaraman for announcing Rs 5,300 crore funds for the Upper Bhadra project of the state in the union budget 2023.

He further stated that the Finance Minister has given priority to the drought-prone regions of the state.