BJP launches ‘Boot Pay’ campaign as 'govt has no funds'

Bengaluru: Mocking the “dire financial condition” of the state government, the Opposition BJP on Tuesday launched a social media campaign called ‘Boot Pay’, urging the people to come forward and help by scanning the ‘Boot Pay’ QR code to donate shoes to needy schoolchildren.

In a series of posts on X, the BJP drew a sharp comparison between the certainty of the sun and moon’s existence in the sky and the undeniable fact that the government is financially bankrupt.

Taking a dig at Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, whom the party dubbed the
‘Lottery CM’, the BJP highlighted a recent news report revealing that the government lacks the necessary funds even to supply basic items, like shoes and socks, to schoolchildren.

Recalling CM’s earlier post on X, where he claimed that Rs 38,000 crore in grants had been allocated annually to primary and high schools, the BJP questioned how the government could still be hunting for donors to supply just one pair of shoes and two pairs of socks to children.

“This contradiction casts doubt on the veracity of the Rs 38,000 crore funding claim,” the BJP said in its post. It also pointed out that the state government had announced the release of Rs 111.88 crore on May 13, 2025, specifically for purchasing shoes and socks for schoolchildren.

The party demanded that Siddaramaiah clarify where these funds were spent and whether they were diverted to the Congress’s election fund, as shoes are still not being distributed and donors are still being sought.