Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa on Monday hit out at Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah for staging a walkout during the presentation of the State Budget and said he would ensure a “permanent seat” for Mr. Siddaramaiah in the Opposition benches after the 2023 Assembly elections.
“Siddaramaiah, your stay in the Opposition is permanent. Don’t call me by my name if I do not make Siddaramaiah sit in the Opposition by winning 130 to 135 seats [in the 2023 elections],” an angry Mr. Yediyurappa said.
The Chief Minister claimed that the country has never before seen an Opposition boycotting a Budget presentation. “Do we have any instance of the Opposition staging a walkout, either at the Centre or the State, during the presentation of Budget?” he asked.
Referring to the Congress saying that the government had no moral right to present a Budget, he said, “What morality does the Congress have? I will explain this during the debate on the Budget in the Assembly.”
Earlier in the day, Mr. Siddaramaiah dubbed the BJP government in the State “unethical”. This comes in the backdrop of the resignation of Ramesh Jarkiholi from the Cabinet, following a sex-for-job scandal, and six Ministers subsequently getting an injunction against the telecast or publication of any defamatory material against them.
