CPI(M) members protested against the state budget outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Kalaburagi on Saturday. | Photo credit: ARUN KULKARNI
Members of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) staged a protest outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Kalaburagi on Saturday, criticizing the state budget presented by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday.
District Secretary K. Neela led the demonstration. After the protest, the party leaders submitted a memorandum addressed to the Prime Minister through the Office of the Deputy Plenipotentiary, in which they stated their reservations about the budget proposals.
Speaking on the occasion, Ms. Neela said that the ₹4.48 crore state budget, presented as a people’s budget aimed at the development of all sections, actually favored private and corporate interests. She claimed that the budget imposes an additional borrowing burden of ₹ 1.34 lakh crore on the state and reflects the increasing reliance on borrowing to meet government expenditure.
The memorandum also criticized the state government for not raising any opposition to the labor codes introduced by the BJP-led Union government and for not addressing issues related to land acquisition carried out under the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board Act.
It said the budget does not propose a solution for those concerned with land acquisition or for the regularization of land cultivated under bagar hukum and forest land.
The party expressed concern over the allocations for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act scheme. It said that though the Center-State sharing pattern has changed to 60:40, the allocation for the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Departments has been reduced to ₹26,559 crore, down ₹176 crore from the previous year.
This, he said, indicates a waning commitment to employment guarantee programs in rural areas.
“The budget failed to provide adequate relief to farmers facing agrarian distress and lacked strong measures to protect farmland and improve farm productivity. While proposals to set up new multi-specialty hospitals and upgrade existing health facilities were welcomed, opening up such initiatives to private participation could benefit corporate interests,” said another party leader Ms Bali.
In the education sector, she argued that the expansion proposals were insufficient and criticized the promotion policy of Karnataka state schools, saying it could lead to the closure of nearby government schools in rural areas. She also opposed proposals to simplify permits for opening private schools, saying such moves could weaken the public education system.
It expressed concern over the absence of provision for the Yuvanidhi scheme meant for educated unemployed youth and criticized the alleged diversion of funds earmarked under the Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan and the Scheduled Tribe Sub-Plan to other schemes.
Published – 07 March 2026 21:14 IST
