Karnataka Congress MLAs don flower over their ears during budget presentation; here's why

Karnataka Budget 2023: Karnataka Opposition leader Siddaramaiah and other Congress leaders were seen with flowers in their ears as a mark of protest, alleging that the BJP government had cheated people and made them fools by failing to fulfil promises made in the previous budget and the 2018 manifesto.  

As the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai started his budget presentation in the Assembly on Friday, February 17, opposition leader Siddaramaiah and other Congress leaders, including KPCC chief DK Shivakumar, were seen with flowers over their ears as a mark of protest, alleging that the BJP government had cheated people and made them fools by failing to fulfil promises made in the previous budget and the 2018 manifesto.

Chief Minister Basvaraj Bommai, who holds the finance portfolio, is presenting his second and final budget ahead of the upcoming state elections in May this year.

The Karnataka Congress refers to it as #KiviMeleHoova, a Kannada proverb that means if one is fooling another person, they should stop by putting a flower in their ear.

Siddaramaiah has repeatedly attacked Bommai's government, claiming that the ruling party made 600 promises in its election manifesto, but only 10 per cent were fulfilled.

The Chief Minister has said that the government will release an 'action taken report' regarding fulfilling promises made by the ruling BJP ahead of the 2018 assembly elections during the budget.

As the BJP faces strong anti-incumbency, the budget is expected to focus on weaker sections of society to galvanise its vote bank.

Bommai has repeatedly said in recent days that this budget would be 'pro-people,' focusing on programmes that would help the poor, weaker sections, farmers, working classes, women, and youth, among others. According to Bommai, the budget is a 'revenue surplus' for 2023-24.

Last week, Bommai said, "This month, GST collected a record amount of Rs 6,085 crore. Karnataka remains the state with the highest growth rate of 30% in GST tax collection."