Karnataka govt finds it difficult to pay salaries due to poor financial condition: State BJP chief

New Delhi [India], June 26 : Karnataka BJP chief BY Vijayendra on Wednesday raised concerns over the state's financial condition, claiming that the government is struggling to pay salaries to the government employees.
"The chief minister is under tremendous pressure since all the ruling MLAs are pressurizing to release the funds for development in their respective constituencies. But the financial situation is so bad in Karnataka that even the chief minister is finding it difficult to give salaries to the government employees," Vijayendra said.
He further emphasized the burden on the chief minister Siddaramaiah to fulfill the guarantees made during the assembly elections.
"The chief minister of Karnataka is under tremendous pressure because he has to implement all its guarantees which were made during the assembly elections. Till today, the state government has not fully implemented the guarantees that were promised to the people of Karnataka," Vijayendra said.
Earlier on June 17, attacking the Congress-led Karnataka government over the hike in fuel prices, Bharatiya Janata Party state chief BY Vijayendra alleged that the state's "financial woes" are due to the mismanagement by the Congress party.
Claiming that the state enjoyed a revenue surplus when BJP was in power, the BJP leader said "corruption" and "financial mismanagement" by the Siddaramaiah government had impacted Karnataka's financial health.
Speaking to ANI, Vijayendra said, "When the BJP government was in power, Karnataka had a revenue surplus. My question is, in just a span of one year, what went wrong with the present Congress government?"
"Due to the mismanagement by the present Congress government in Karnataka and severe corruption, we are facing problems. The financial situation is very bad in the state of Karnataka because of the mishandling of the situation by the Congress government and the CM himself," he added.
Vijayendra further criticized the decision to hike fuel prices, arguing it would negatively impact the people of the state.
"The decision of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to hike the prices of petrol and diesel...this decision of the Congress government will cost dearly for the people of Karnataka and it will affect the farmers and lead to an increase in the prices of buses, taxis, autos, and everything, impacting the common man," he added.
The increase in the price of petrol and diesel comes following an official notification from the Karnataka government, which indicates a revision in the sales tax levied on petroleum products.
The price of petrol has surged by Rs 3, bringing the cost per litre in Bengaluru to Rs 102.84, up from the previous rate of Rs 99.84. Similarly, the price of diesel has increased by Rs 3.02, raising the cost per litre from Rs 85.93 to Rs 88.95.