Bengaluru, Mar 13 (PTI) Asserting that his government has been managing the state's finances with fiscal discipline, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday strongly defended the 2025-26 budget he presented last week, stating that it will be a revenue surplus next year.

Hitting back at the opposition BJP, which criticised his government over increased borrowings, he urged them to examine the budget and borrowings of the Narendra Modi-led central government.

The Chief Minister, who also holds the finance portfolio, intervened during the Assembly discussion on the budget, which was initiated by Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka.

"I'm committed to the statement I made in the House in 2017. The Fiscal Responsibility Act outlines three criteria for maintaining a healthy state economy: it should be a revenue surplus, the fiscal deficit should be below 3 per cent, and borrowings should be below 25 per cent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP)," Siddaramaiah said.

He added, "Of these three, we have not been able to meet only one criterion—being revenue surplus. We currently have a revenue deficit. Last year, the deficit was higher, but we have managed to reduce it. The revenue deficit has been pegged at Rs 19,262 crore for 2025-26, down from Rs 27,354 crore last year. We will be in revenue surplus next year." The state's fiscal deficit is 2.91 per cent, and borrowings stand at 24.95 per cent of the GSDP, thereby meeting the other two criteria of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, he said.

Noting that all governments take loans, the CM took a dig at the BJP, stating that since Narendra Modi became Prime Minister in 2014-15, borrowings have drastically increased, now accounting for 56 per cent of the GDP.

"The central government's budget this year is Rs 50 lakh crore, with borrowings amounting to about Rs 15 lakh crore." "You question the state government's borrowings, but look at the central government's budget too. We have borrowed within the limits of the Fiscal Responsibility Act. Stop your hypocrisy," he added.

This remark sparked protests in the Assembly, with opposition BJP members objecting to the CM repeatedly citing the Union Budget and urging him to focus on the state budget he presented.

Amid the BJP's attacks on him and his government, Siddaramaiah remained firm. "Truth is always bitter, but I am speaking the truth," he said.

Responding to this, Ashoka countered, stating that the discussion was about the state budget presented by Siddaramaiah.

"If the CM wants to discuss the budget presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, he should go to Parliament. He should contest the next Lok Sabha elections and debate this there," Ashoka quipped.

Earlier, as Ashoka was speaking, BJP members pointed to the absence of the Chief Minister, senior ministers, the Finance Secretary, and senior Finance Department officials in the House.

They argued that such an absence was unusual when the Leader of the Opposition was speaking on the budget.

Calling the budget "short-sighted" and "lacking a development focus", Ashoka criticized Siddaramaiah’s government for rising borrowings.

"In 2021-22, during the COVID-19 crisis, borrowings stood at Rs 80,641 crore. In 2022-23, it was Rs 44,549 crore. In 2023-24, after Siddaramaiah's government took charge, it rose to Rs 90,280 crore. In 2024-25, it increased to Rs 1,07,006 crore, and now, for 2025-26, it stands at Rs 1,16,000 crore," he said.

"When there was financial stress during COVID-19, borrowings were lower. But after Siddaramaiah became CM, and despite the absence of such crises, borrowings have consistently increased," he added.

Taking a swipe at the CM, Ashoka remarked that the government had made no allocations for development since coming to power.

"All governments take loans, but how they utilize them matters," he said. "Even many Congress legislators have said, 'This is not the same Siddaramaiah we saw earlier. He has become dull, and so has his budget.'" "...What is my age now?" the CM quipped in response to Ashoka.

Pointing to Siddaramaiah’s March 20, 2017 speech in the Assembly, in which he had stated that loans should be taken based on affordability and used for asset creation rather than non-development expenditures, Ashoka asked, "What assets are you creating here? You are using these funds to fulfill political promises from your manifesto, for your 'free guarantees' instead of real development." PTI KSU SSK ROH

Fiscal discipline asserted: state meets deficit and borrowing limits while pledging a return to revenue surplus next year. The Chief Minister defended the 2025-26 budget as compliant with the Fiscal Responsibility Act by meeting fiscal deficit and borrowing limits while acknowledging a reduced revenue deficit projected to become a revenue surplus next year; the Opposition countered that recent borrowing increases fund non-development guarantees rather than asset-creating expenditure and raised procedural objections about official absences during the budget debate.