In Short
- Karnataka Home Minister denies saying government has no money
- Parameshwara says sufficient funds available for all activities
- Clarifies money disbursal delays are procedural, not financial
Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara denied admitting to the state government’s financial troubles at a public event. “I never said the government has no money. Who said that? I myself have clarified it,” he said.
Parameshwara insisted that he never claimed the state lacked funds, contradicting earlier reports. He maintained that the government has sufficient funds for all planned activities. “Even in my speech, I said we have no shortage of funds for anything. An action plan of 50 crore is being prepared for every constituency,” he explained.
“There is no financial crunch, but sometimes there could be a delay in fund release,” he insisted.
According to the Home Minister, action plans worth Rs 50 crore were being prepared for every Assembly constituency and his statement was aimed at that. “DPR (detailed project report) has to be prepared…estimates have to be made… Delays can happen in those stages,” he said.
However, he admitted that some MLAs would feel disheartened by the delays, which could lead to offhand remarks, after explaining that any delay in fund disbursal was attributed to those technical steps. “MLAs may have expressed frustration over delays in grants. When one feels disappointed, such words might slip out at times,” Parameshwara said.
On Monday, Parameshwara, at a public event in Badami, Bagalkot, said the government didn’t have money. “We don’t have money, even Siddaramaiah doesn’t have funds now. We’ve already given everything to the people in the form of rice, dal, and oil, yes even oil,” he was reported to have said.
