Mano-a-mano: Bommai takes on Siddaramaiah in Assembly

Bengaluru: Senior BJP lawmaker Basavaraj Bommai shouldered the Opposition’s counter to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the Assembly on Tuesday, placing on display a banter-filled swordplay between the two friends representing differing ideologies.

Bommai, a former chief minister, and Siddaramaiah locked horns on the Governor's address, the 15th Finance Commission and the Upper Bhadra Project.

On the 15th Finance Commission's recommendation of Rs 5,495 crore to Karnataka, Bommai said this did not make it to the final report.

"As per the terms of reference, there's no scope to make such recommendations. Six states were recommended Rs 22,000 crore. It was excluded from the final report," he said. On Rs 6,000 crore recommended for Bengaluru, including the peripheral ring road (PRR) project, Bommai insisted that the money will come. "The Commission is valid till 2026. The PRR hasn't even started. How can we keep saying that money hasn't come without addressing fundamental problems with the project?" he said.

Siddaramaiah hammered the BJP over Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman not giving Rs 5,300 crore to the Upper Bhadra Project. To this, Bommai said the Congress government will be responsible if the money does not come. "Under the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Program (AIBP), there's something called N-Form. If we send a proposal in that format, we'll get the funds. You didn't do it for nine months," he said.

Siddaramaiah accused Bommai of changing the goalpost. "First, you said the government should provide matching grants. Now, you're saying we need to send it in the right format," he said.

On the Governor's address, Bommai said the government had not paid milk producers their incentive for the last six months contrary to what was claimed. "For Kalyana Karnataka, you’ve claimed credit for works that were approved when the BJP was in power," he said.

"You said not a single bus was purchased when BJP was in power. During our time, 1,311 BMTC, 50 KSRTC and 20 Volvo buses that were purchased are already operational. You said 97 per cent of budget announcements have been notified, but the Economic Survey says that the achievement is not more than 55 per cent. These are the lies you made the Governor say," he said.

When Siddaramaiah read out newspaper articles on the Governor's address, Bommai made a stinging remark: "I've seen you for a long time. Never have you sought the help of newspaper articles to defend yourself. Have you become so helpless?"