Bengaluru, March 6 The opposition BJP in Karnataka staged a "Khaali Chambu" protest on Friday, stating that the budget presented by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is an empty vessel, offering nothing to the people.
Holding "Khaali Chambu" (empty vessel), party legislators, including the Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly R Ashoka, BJP state president B Y Vijayendra, MLC N Ravikumar, MLAs Arvind Bellad and V Sunil Kumar, marched on the Vidhana Soudha premises.
Condemning the budget, the protesters raised slogans like "Siddaramaiah's budget is Khaali Chambu" and "Reproof to the Khaali Chambu government".
Addressing reporters here, Ashoka said the Congress government in the state believes in the philosophy of living lavishly on borrowed money.
"This budget is bland. It has no new projects. The only new project is more and more borrowing," he said.
Over the past three years, the state has added a loan of Rs 4.39 lakh crore to the people of the state, Ashoka claimed. The next government will not be in a position to pay the interest, let alone the principal amount, and the fiscal deficit has reached Rs 97,000 crore, the BJP leader said.
"If Siddaramaiah continues as chief minister for the next two years, our borrowings will reach Rs 10 lakh crore. His government's borrowing is 10 times more compared to all the chief ministers in the past," Ashoka charged.
He added that there is no mention of new irrigation projects, potholes, and the garbage crisis in Bengaluru.
