Karnataka Home Minister retracts 'govt has no money' remark

He said there is no shortage

Bengaluru/Badami (Bagalkot dist): Home Minister G Parameshwara on Tuesday clarified that there was no shortage of funds in the government for any reason and that his earlier statement in this regard had been misunderstood.

The senior Congress leader was clarifying the statement he made on Monday while addressing a gathering at Badami in Bagalkot district, where he had said that the state government didn’t have money. His comments were picked up by the media, and the Opposition BJP too used it to target the government, alleging that the financial condition of the state had deteriorated.

“I have not said like that, who said there is no money? I have defended the government, saying we have presented a record budget. As someone said something jokingly during the speech, I reacted in a similar fashion, that’s all,” Parameshwara told reporters in Bengaluru on Tuesday, when questioned about his statement.

Reiterating that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has presented a Rs 4.09 lakh crore budget, he said, “When someone said something jokingly, I might have reacted.”

“I’m now saying officially, that there is no financial distress in our government. I’m saying it very clearly. Sometimes, there may be a delay in the release of funds, as DPR and estimates have to be prepared before releasing money. Other than that, there is nothing. There is no shortage of funds in our government for any reason. If anyone has misunderstood my statement, I’m correcting that,” he said.

On Monday, he had said that Siddaramaiah had no funds to take up development of Badami.

So, local residents and elected representatives should prepare a mega project of Rs 1,000 crore and submit it to the union government for overall revamp of the historical town, he said.

Speaking after inaugurating the new building of the fire & emergency services department here, the minister said: “The proposal should be sent to Centre as we don’t have funds. Siddaramaiah has no money now because we have given everything to you in the form of rice, dal and oil”.

“I am told that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has lots of money, some of which he has to pay us. If the proposal is sent to union government, the entire Badami, which has more than 1,500 years of history, can be conserved and developed,” said Parameshwara.

He said he was not “happy” with the kind of basic facilities at the Badami cave temple complex.

“There are no toilets, especially for women, restrooms or sit-outs for visitors. I have spoken to Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) officials, under whose care the heritage monument is. Hopefully, the central government allocates Rs 1,000 crore to develop the entire town,” he said.

Parameshwara, praising the art at the cave temples, said Badami represented the religious tolerance of our past.

“Our ancestors were so tolerant of other religions. A Jain temple was allowed to be constructed next to a Hindu monument. Today, the minute a proposal to construct another religious building next to a temple comes up, there are complaints raised. It results in murders and communal disturbance. Badami should become our inspiration for religious tolerance,” he said.

(With PTI inputs)