Karnataka: Split in Congress over move to hire BCG to fulfil poll promises
Op IndiaThe Karnataka government’s decision to hire “The Boston Consulting Group” as a consultant appears to have divided the Congress party as Praveen Chakravarty joined voices with the Bharatiya Janata Party BJP to criticise Chief Minister Siddaramaiah administration’s move to recruit the consulting giant in an attempt to increase revenue to fulfil its five election guarantees. If one wins elections by outsourcing core political functions to external fee charging transactional consultants, then one also governs by outsourcing core policy functions to similar consultants!https://t.co/O7xgk3T1mZ — Praveen Chakravarty June 20, 2024 However, later Praveen Chakravarty attempted to downplay his outspoken disapproval of the Karnataka government’s and referred to it as his “personal opinion”. In retrospect, I should have been much… — Praveen Chakravarty June 21, 2024 “What is the need of the BCG when a self-proclaimed economist like Siddaramaiah is the chief minister,” Leader of the Opposition of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly questioned and highlighted, “Not sure whether it will boost the revenues of the state government, but it will definitely boost the revenues of a private consultancy firm at the cost of Karnataka’s taxpayers.” The Congress administration was also criticised by BJP state unit president BY Vijayendra for their “outrageous” decision to employ a “foreign” consultant. He declared, “This is akin to handing over the reins to the East India Company.” The politician further charged, “When the state government operates under the directions of an external agency, the welfare of the people takes a backseat, and innocent citizens are the ones who suffer.” There is pressure on the Congress government to raise Rs 50,000-60,000 crore annually to fund development projects and carry out the five guarantees which would benefit 5.10 crore individuals in Karnataka at the cost of Rs 36,000 crore from the state’s coffers in 2023–2024.