Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman strongly rejected the opposition’s allegations on Wednesday that the Union Budget is ‘discriminatory,’ calling the claims an ‘outrageous allegation.’ She accused the opposition, led by the Congress party, of deliberately misleading the public into thinking that certain states were neglected in the budget allocations.
Sitharaman responded after Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge criticized the budget for allegedly favoring certain states. Addressing the Rajya Sabha, the Finance Minister said, “It is unfortunate that the opposition, particularly a senior leader like Mallikarjun Kharge, is making claims about the budget based on what they heard yesterday. Since Kharge raised issues regarding the budget presented and tabled in the house yesterday, I feel the need to address these concerns.”
She elaborated, “In my budget speech, I mentioned only a few states, not all. The Congress party, which has held power for a long time and presented numerous budgets, should know that not every state is named in each budget.” Sitharaman provided an example to illustrate her point: “For instance, Maharashtra’s name was not mentioned in the budget presentation yesterday, despite a decision by the Cabinet under Prime Minister Narendra Modi to set up a port at Vadhvan. Does this imply Maharashtra is being ignored? The state has been allocated ₹76,000 crores for this project.”
#WATCH | On Opposition’s protest against ‘discriminatory’ Budget, FM Nirmala Sitharaman in Rajya Sabha says,”…In every Budget, you don’t get an opportunity to name every state of this country…The Cabinet had taken a decision to set up a port on Vadavan. But Maharashtra’s name… pic.twitter.com/KSEATuMNpf
— ANI (@ANI) July 24, 2024
Sitharaman further argued, “Just because a particular state’s name isn’t mentioned in the budget speech does not mean that state’s schemes or programs are overlooked. Funding and assistance from international bodies like the World Bank and ADB are allocated routinely and are included in the government’s expenditure statements.”
She emphasized, “I assert with responsibility that this is a deliberate attempt by the opposition, led by Congress, to create a false impression that certain states have not received funds or schemes.” Sitharaman challenged the Congress party, stating, “I challenge the Congress to show if they have named every state in each of their budget speeches. This is an outrageous allegation.”
The controversy follows Kharge’s criticism of the budget, where he claimed that only Andhra Pradesh and Bihar received any significant allocations. “The budget is like serving pakoras and jalebis to just two states, leaving others empty-handed,” Kharge said. He further criticized the budget as being designed to please certain individuals and preserve their positions, referring to it as a ‘Kursi Bachao Budget.’
In response to the budget, MPs from the opposition INDIA bloc staged a protest in the Parliament complex. They chanted slogans like “Opposition virodhi kursi bachao Budget murda baad,” holding placards and condemning the budget as discriminatory. The protest saw participation from leaders such as Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, KC Venugopal, Akhilesh Yadav, and Dola Sen.
