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Karnataka MP calls for ‘separate country for South’ alleging ‘injustice’ in budget

D.K. Suresh Kumar, Congress MP from Karnataka, Thursday Feb 01, 2024 said South India will have to have a ‘separate country’ if the trend to deny its due share in the budgetary allocations persisted. Read More

Thursday February 1, 2024 9:15 PM , ummid.com with inputs from Agencies

[DK Suresh Kumar, MP for Bangalore Rural Lok Sabha Constituency, in a file photo (Image: X/DKSureshINC)]

New Delhi: D.K. Suresh Kumar, Congress MP from Karnataka, Thursday Feb 01, 2024 said South India will have to have a ‘separate country’ if the trend to deny its due share in the budgetary allocations persisted.

Reacting to Nirmala Sitharaman’s interim budget presented in the Parliament today, D.K. Suresh Kumar accused the Narendra Modi government of depriving South India of its share of developmental funds and using it to buttress North India.

Accusing that funds that meant for the South are getting diverted and distributed to North India, Kumar said:

"There will be no other option but to ask for a 'separate country' as a result of the situation that the Hindi-region has imposed on South India."

DK Suresh Kumar’s comments sparked a huge outrage and the BJP MPs accused the Congress of working on “Bharat Todo” instead of “Bharat Jodo” – in a veiled reference to Rahul Gandhi’s “Bharat Jodo Yatra”.

The Congress however remained stick to his comments and reiterated his allegation of “injustice to South” in a series of posts on social media platform X.

"South India and especially Karnataka have faced the brutality of injustice in funds distribution. Even after being the 2nd largest GST-contributing state, the center has been utterly unjust to Karnataka and Southern states while states like Gujarat have seen a 51% hike", he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

"If this is not Injustice then what is?" he asked.

"We are sons of this soil and need funds for our developmental activities. Even after repeated requests for funds for developmental activities and drought relief the Center has continued to turn a deaf ear to us", he wrote.

"From Mahadayi to Mekedatu, the list of unfulfilled promises goes on. This is the attitude of the government at the center. Even with our efforts to save Kannada in our own land through 60% Kannada rule, an ordinance is brought to do away with it at the nick of time", he added.

"I stand by the Unity and Integrity of this nation as a proud Indian & Congressman. No amount of slandering by the Bogus Jan Party shall even slightly diminish this. I shall also continue to raise my voice against Injustice towards Karnataka, no matter what", he wrote.

Meanwhile, commenting on his brother's allegations, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivkumar said the Bangalore Rural MP was sharing the anguish and opinion of the people of Karnataka.

 

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