Bengaluru: Former Chief Minister and MP Basavaraj Bommai has accused the state Congress government of betraying the common people of the state by imposing taxes on the poor under the pretext of providing guarantees and comparing the state to other states.

In a series of tweets on X, he stated that in the name of guarantees, no developmental activities are taking place in the state, and the progress of the state is zero. The state is financially bankrupt, and it will take several years to rectify this. The state Congress government is directly responsible for this, he asserted.

He further mentioned that imposing burdens on the common people and claiming that it causes trade issues with neighboring states, thus protecting the interests of allied parties in those states, is akin to committing treason against the people of the state. Comparing the state to other states and claiming that the prices of petrol and diesel are lower here, thus imposing a burden on the poor, is unjust. The Chief Minister’s statement justifying price hikes is anti-people, he said.

Questioning the fairness, he added, “How is it justifiable to impose taxes on the poor and extort money from them under the pretext of providing free guarantees, while the Congress bakes its political bread on the suffering of the poor?”’