There have already been several instances in Karnataka's newly-formed coalition government that hinted at cracks in the alliance between Congress and Janata Dal (Secular). Now, the discussions regarding the 2018-19 budget have made it all the more evident as it showed a clear difference of opinion between the two parties.
On Saturday, June 16, the Congress party stated that they do not need a fresh budget and insisted on having a supplementary budget. But JD(S) begged to differ. According to Press Trust of India, the chief minister's party claimed that a new budget was an absolute must to demonstrate the path of the new government.
Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy, who strongly vouches for a new budget, is set to meet Congress president Rahul Gandhi to sort out of the issue soon.
Whenever a new government comes to power, it needs to demonstrate what its goals are. We cannot limit ourselves to presenting supplementary budget because there are many challenges before the government," Kumaraswamy was quoted as saying by PTI.
"A supplementary budget would not suffice to incorporate them all," the chief minister added while talking about incorporating new programmes promised by both the parties.
On the other hand, former chief minister and chairman of the Congress-JD(S) coordination committee, Siddaramaiah, sided with the Congress views and said that there was no need of presenting a new full-fledged budget.
Budget has already been tabled. It is a full-fledged budget only. That's why we had taken a vote on accounts for four months. It will be there till July end. All the ongoing programmes and new programmes announced in the budget will continue," Siddaramaiah was quoted as saying by PTI.
The Congress leader had tabled the budget when he was the chief minister of Karnataka. Siddaramaiah has even advised Kumaraswamy to implement all his new schemes in a supplementary budget.
