Overview
- Karnataka’s chief minister, replying to the budget debate on Wednesday, said he scheduled the March 6 presentation to avoid Rahu Kala only after family and senior officials urged him to do so.
- He reiterated that he does not believe in Rahu Kala or Gulika Kala, time windows many Hindus view as inauspicious, noting he has previously presented budgets during those periods and that this year’s speech began at 10:15 a.m., about 15 minutes before Rahu Kala.
- He stressed a rationalist stance by saying he eats non-vegetarian food on festivals such as Shivratri and Ugadi and by invoking Basavanna to say the divine is not confined to temples.
- He rejected “debt budget” claims by citing borrowing of Rs 1.32 lakh crore within a Rs 4.48 lakh crore plan and said Karnataka’s outstanding debt is Rs 8.24 lakh crore, which he argued remains within set limits.
- Opposition leader R. Ashok said the timing showed worry over who would present the next budget, and Siddaramaiah answered that the party high command would decide that question.