Karnataka Budget LIVE Updates: CM Siddaramaiah to present first budget since Congress assumed power

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Karnataka Budget LIVE Updates: Karnataka's Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is set to present the state budget today at 12 pm. This budget holds significance as it is the first since the Congress party assumed power in the state after the May 10 election.It is the second budget of the 2023-24 fiscal year and is expected to outline the specific allocation required to fulfil the five pre-poll guarantees made by the Congress party.The budget will also prioritize strategies for increasing revenue generation.

Notably, this will be Siddaramaiah's seventh budget as Chief Minister, having previously presented six budgets during his tenure from 2013 to 2018. Additionally, this budget will mark his 14th budget attendance overall.The Karnataka government is likely to table a bill scrapping the anti-conversion law called Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Act, 2022, which was promulgated by the previous BJP government, PTI reported.According to some Congress insiders, the government will also introduce a bill scrapping the anti-cow slaughter law called Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Act, 2020.As Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who holds the finance portfolio, gets ready to present his budget on July 7, the BJP is prepared to attack the Congress for its "failure" to implement the five guarantees that were supposed to come into effect from the day the government came to power.The budget session of the Karnataka Legislature began on 3 July with Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot emphasising on the need to eradicate corruption in the state, and the ruling Congress and opposition BJP gearing up for a battle both inside and outside the Assembly.Earlier in the month of February Former Karnataka Chief