Tejasvi Surya: “Modi Govt Has Given Karnataka 258% More Money Than UPA, Mekedatu No Solution to Water Woes”

Many people see the Bengaluru South Lok Sabha constituency as a prominent and respectable seat, home to well-known figures like Nandan Nilekani, Sudha Murthy, Anil Kumble, Kiccha Sudeep, and Narayana Murthy. The BJP’s Tejasvi Surya and the Congress’ Sowmya Reddy are running fierce campaigns for the seat, which has historically been a BJP stronghold.

Over a steaming cup of filter coffee, News18 got up with Surya to talk about the issues and campaign in the constituency. The politician offered his thoughts on the election contest and Karnataka’s water problems.

Karnataka’s elections have been reduced to a race between Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assurance and the five promises made by the Congress. Surya said that the former would not hold up since voters are aware that this is an election to choose the nation’s prime leader.

Even the fulfillment of these promises made by the Congress is erratic, particularly in large cities like Bengaluru. In the event that the voter also benefits from Modi’s assurance, he will compare the record of delivery and experience. Due to the high proportion of middle-class and elderly residents in our constituency, we began growing Jan Aushadhi Kendras. The number of Jan Aushadhi Kendras has increased from 14 in 2019 to 132 now, making it the biggest number of parliamentary constituencies nationwide. Every month, two lakh individuals utilize it, saving around Rs 25 crore annually. The constituency refers to it as “Modi Medicals.” That is the nature of our connection. In our constituency, there are two lakh Ayushman Bharat card users. 1.5 lakh free treatments worth Rs 431 crore have been provided in the last five years, according to Surya.

He responded, “For all international projects, whether it’s the metro or suburban projects, the Union government stands as a sovereign guarantee,” when asked if the Union government could take credit for projects like the suburban rail project, the airport terminal, and the metro, which see an equal contribution from the state government and the majority of the funding being raised in the form of loans. These large-scale initiatives are all partially supported by state and federal governments. But they never take off if Center doesn’t give them a shove. Due to the fact that SPV employs state government officials, the majority of whom lack the technical know-how to oversee the suburban rail project, it is not progressing quickly. “I agree that Indian Railways should receive it,” he said.

Surya disagrees with the state government’s claim that the Centre is treating Karnataka like a stepmother in the tax devolution process. The MP said, “In ten years, the Modi government has given Karnataka 258% more money than the UPA government gave in ten years.”

Surya asserted that “the percentage is decided by the Finance Commission and not the Union government” in response to the reminder that tax collection had also increased significantly during these years and that the state government had stated that a comparison in percentage terms with overall tax collection was only fair. “Why are you not providing credit if the allocation percentage for the 14th Finance Commission was greater than the 15th? Politics is this,” he said.

The Finance Commission report, he said, “doesn’t mention grant for peripheral ring road.” Furthermore, there is no mention of any special funding for any state—Karnataka excepted.

RELIEF FROM DRYNESS
After Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman hinted that there could have been a little delay in the release of money intended to alleviate the drought in Karnataka, the Congress seized the chance to accuse the Modi administration of ignoring the state.

“Karnataka has Rs 650 crore under the SDRF for drought relief, which they can make use of,” counters Surya.

“Let the state government explain what it has done with Rs 650 crore to allay concerns about drought before demanding more.” Eight percent of the requested amount during the drought was provided by the Union government under the UPA. Over the last ten years, we have received, on average of what was requested for drought assistance under the NDA. Which is greater? They sent in the report beyond the deadline, and meetings were prohibited under the Model Code of Conduct,” he said.

“CHECK THAT MEKEDATU IS NOT THE SOLUTION.”
There has been a severe water scarcity in several parts of Bengaluru, particularly on the city’s outskirts. The Mekedatu balancing reservoir project across the Cauvery is being promoted by the Congress administration as a solution, however the Bengaluru South MP disagrees. Additionally, he assigned the state government the duty of obtaining a No-Objection Certificate.

Personally, I don’t think Mekedatu is the way forward. Lakes need to be well maintained. We will do better if we dismantle the real estate lobby and regulate land sharks. The Congress claims that since the Central Water Commission (CWC) has not granted approval, Mekedatu would not proceed. Tamil Nadu, where the Congress and DMK are allies as part of the INDIA bloc, must provide the CWC with a nod of approval. DK Shivakumar and Siddaramaih need to talk to Stalin and accept the nod. Mekedatu will face opposition from the DMK. You claim to be supporters of the Kannada cause. The state government is primarily in charge of obtaining NoC for Mekedatu. Even in the event of a BJP administration, I would say the same thing,” he said.