New Delhi, February 1: Lok Sabha MP from Bengaluru Rural DK Suresh on Thursday courted controversy by claiming that the southern states of the country will raise a demand for a separate country if the centre 'continues the trend' of not releasing funds for them. Speaking to the reporters after the Union Budget-2024 was presented in the Lok Sabha, the Congress MP accused the centre of not releasing funds to South Indian states.

"The Centre is not properly giving the right share of GST and direct taxes to South Indian states. The South Indian states are facing injustice. The money collected from southern states is being given to North Indian states. If this continues, we will be forced to demand a separate country," the Congress leader said. He further threatened to raise a demand for a separate country if the trend continues. 'Separate Country for South India': Congress MP DK Suresh Alleges 'Injustice' in Funds Distribution After Union Budget 2024–25.

"The centre is getting over Rs 4 lakh crore from us and what we are getting in return is negligible. We have to question this. If this is not rectified, all southern states have to raise their voices demanding a separate nation," DK Suresh added.

DK Suresh's brother and Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar sought to play down the comments saying that the Congress MP was speaking off the pain of South India. "DK Suresh or any other leader have spoken of the pain of South India... There has to be a balance. The entire country is one... You cannot only look at the Hindi belt... In this budget, there is no equal distribution of finances... Karnataka has been giving a lot of revenue to the Centre... For the entire South India, no major announcement has been made... We feel like we have been let down. But the entire country is one. We are Indians. India should be united. There is no question of demanding anything region-wise" DK Shivakumar said. Union Budget 2024-25 Key Takeaways: From Tourism to Income Tax and More, Highlights of Nirmala Sitharaman's Interim Budget Speech.

However, the statement from the Congress leader drew sharp criticism from the BJP leaders with BJP MP Tejasvi Surya accusing DK Suresh of playing a 'trick' to divide the country. "While the Congress Party has a history of 'Divide and Rule', its MP Sri @DKSureshINC plays the trick again now, wanting the North and South to be divided...Let's consider the matter of the tax devolution to Karnataka in recent years. The tax devolution to Karnataka during UPA-2 from 2009-14 stood at Rs 53,396 crore, whereas Tax devolution during 2014-19 under PM Narendra Modi crossed 1.35 lakh crore," Surya said in a post on X.

The BJP MP went on to say that the tax devolution stood at Rs 30,919 crore in 2019-20, Rs 21,694 crore in 2020-21 and is estimated to be about Rs 24,273 in 2021-22 and Rs 29,783 crore in 2022-23 - all more than what used to devolve during UPA-2.

"Grants-in-Aid from GoI during 2009-14 was Rs 39,828 crore, while the same during 2014-19 was increased to Rs 91,374 crore. Further, Finance Commission grants from the Centre to Karnataka are budgeted to be Rs 5,058 crore in 2022-23. This is a significant increase over the Rs 2,476 crore released in 2009-10," he added.

Tejasvi Surya also slammed the Congress accusing it of having an idea of 'divide and rule' that is much 'worse than that followed by the colonisers'. "On one hand, their leader Sri @RahulGandhi is attempting to 'unite' the country with his 'Jodo' Yatras. On the other hand, we have an MP who is hell-bent on breaking the nation. Kannadigas will never allow this to happen. We will give them a befitting reply in the Lok Sabha elections & ensure that #CongressMuktBharat attains fruition," he added.

Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar also came down heavily on Congress, saying that the grand old party has an agenda to 'divide people'. "Once upon a time Congress was a party wth leaders like Sardar Patel who worked to integrate India into one diverse yet unified nation Today Rahuls Cong us represented by people like DK Suresh - brother of out on bail and corruption accused Cong Dy CM DK Shivakumar. Their agenda is to divide people with North-South Conflict and appeasement Politics," he said in a post on X.

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