Maharashtra Economic Survey compares state’s per capita with Karnataka

Mumbai: A comparison with poll-bound Karnataka’s per capita income in Maharashtra’s Economic Survey on Thursday caused a flutter, with the Congress dubbing it as a political move and the government justifying it.

The Survey mentioned that the per capita income in the BJP-ruled Maharashtra rose by 12.1 per cent in 2016-17 while that of the Congress-ruled Karnataka by 10.2 per cent in similar period. The Survey mentioned that the per capita income in Maharashtra for 2016-17 stood at Rs 1,65,491 whereas that of Karnataka at Rs 1,57,474.

Terming it as an unprecedented move, former Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan said the earlier Surveys never compared the state’s per capita income with any other state. “Karnataka is going to polls soon. Why the BJP-led Maharashtra government has compared its per capita income with Karnataka only when it is higher than the southern state? It looks like a political move,” Chavan told reporters. Maharashtra Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar denied any politics behind mentioning Karnataka in the Survey.