Cong speaking in language of separatists: Sitharaman

much as 258,000 crore has been earmarked for these understand it is mounting on them," she said. The FM said the Union government had cautioned that the Congress has not accounted for the money to be earmarked for the guarantees when the party made the announcement in the run up to the state polls. "Based on the back of the envelope calculation, we had said it will cost them 260,000 crore. They gave guarantees without knowing how they were going to fund it..." she said. The FM said the state government, unable to fund the guarantees, is now shifting the blame to the Centre and giving people the wrong impression that the Union government is withholding funds.

- Smriti Kak Ramachandran

Union finance minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday lashed out at the Congress government in Karnataka for "speaking in the language of separatists" while vehemently refuting allegations that the Union government has withheld funds and grants for the state, including monies sought for drought relief.

"The state government is speaking asatya (untruth)... The Congress is standing with those who have a separatist mentality," she said. In a sharp attack against Congress lawmaker DK Suresh, the FM said his statement that southern states are not getting their due smacks of secessionists tendencies. Last week, while reacting to the interim Union Budget, Suresh stoked controversy by accusing the Centre of neglecting the southern states in fund distribution. His statement that there was a possibility of demanding a separate nation if the perceived injustice was not rectified promptly was criticised by the Bharatiya Janata Party and found a mention in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday while he was replying to the President's Address.

Accusing the Congress of not condemning the statement, the FM said it was an attempt to create cleavage between states.