Bengaluru, Aug. 20 -- The ruling Congress government in Karnataka came out strongly in defence of its financial management today after the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) raised questions over the state's ambitious guarantee schemes.

Senior ministers and legislators underlined Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's fiscal prudence and insisted that the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was attempting to manufacture a political controversy.

Water Resources Minister MB Patil asserted that Siddaramaiah's decades of experience had ensured that fiscal discipline remained intact.

"Our Chief Minister has vast experience in financial management and he has always respected fiscal discipline. Whenever loans are taken, he ensures there is a cl...