Agreeing that there is a general trend of low spending in states under President’s Rule, Mr Chidambaram told the Rajya Sabha, “But I will go to Karnataka shortly to discuss with the Governor and guide the State officials on how to start the expenditure from April 1.”

He, however, hastened to add that he would be ensuring that money would be left in the State’s kitty for the new government to start spending from the day one.

Karnataka is currently under President’s rule.

Old age pensions
Responding to a debate on Karnataka’s vote on account, he said instructions have already been issued to the State to disburse the monthly Rs 400 old age pension to the 1.64 lakh elders identified under the Sandhya Suraksha scheme.

Mr Chidambaram’s explanation on the pension scheme came after BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu wondered why no money was being spent though former Karnataka finance minister had provided for Rs 2500 crore for the scheme during the erstwhile JD(S)-BJP reign.

Mr Naidu asked why the Centre did not give permission for the setting up and upgradation of airports at Gulbarga, Hassan, Shimoga and Bijapur. An outlay of Rs 418.45 crore was given in 2007-08.

“Everything was cleared by the State but the Centre has not given permission and there is no progress so far,” he said.

Mr Naidu also alleged that no progress has been made over providing the high-speed rail link to the new Bengaluru International Airport.

Responding to the allegation, Mr Chidambaram said the fault lay with the erstwhile JD(S)-BJP government which did not create any Special Purpose Vehicle for the task.

BJP MP K B Shanappa said Gulbarga, Bidar, Raichur, Belgaum and Bellary districts were being neglected by the Centre despite their strong industrial base and rich mineral deposits. “Except one road to Bangalore, there is no other national highway connecting this region,” he said.

While independent MP Rajiv Chandrasekhar wanted a Mumbai-like package for Bangalore from the finance minister, Congress’s B K Hariprasad appealed to Mr Chidambaram to improve the road connectivity between Bangalore and Mangalore.

WE WANT EARLY POLLS: BJP
New Delhi, DHNS: The discussion on Karnataka Budget in Rajya Sabha on Monday turned into a forum for political one-upmanship between Congress and BJP, with MP M Venkaiah Naidu claiming that while BJP wanted early polls, Congress did not want State elections in May as it was not confident of facing people.

Congress leaders Janardhana Poojary and B K Hariprasad countered Mr Naidu, saying their party was ready for the polls anytime, while Finance Minister P Chidambaram refuted the charge, saying the political uncertainty in Karnataka was the result of the “unholy” alliance between JD(S) and BJP. Attacking the Congress while participating in the debate, Mr Naidu said, “We want early polls in Karnataka, but the great leaders from Congress come to Delhi demanding postponement. Please do not do injustice to the people of Karnataka.” “You may try your best to postpone the polls, but at the best you may only postpone your defeat, not evade it,” he said.