- By Vivek Raj
- Wed, 24 Jul 2024 12:22 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
A day after presenting the first budget of Modi 3.0, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday addressed the Opposition's allegations of biased allocation in the Union Budget 2024. Sitharaman refuted claims of discrimination, stating, “It is not possible to mention every state in the Budget speech.”
#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
The Opposition, led by Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, staged a walkout in protest of what they termed discriminatory treatment of states in the Budget. Sitharaman remarked, “It is unfortunate that the Opposition, particularly Mallikarjun Kharge, chose to leave before hearing my response. In the spirit of democracy, I would have expected them to stay.”
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Sitharaman explained that while some states were not mentioned in her speech, allocations were made to various regions. She used Maharashtra as an example, noting that despite its exclusion from her speech, the government has committed Rs 76,000 crore for the Vadhavan port project in the state.
“The Cabinet had taken a decision to set up a port on Vadavan. But Maharashtra’s name was not taken in the Budget yesterday. Does this mean that Maharashtra feels ignored? If a particular state is named in the speech, does it mean that programs of GOI don't go to these states,” said Sitharaman.
The Opposition INDIA bloc criticised the Union Budget 2024 for allegedly favoring Bihar and Andhra Pradesh—states governed by key BJP allies. The Budget includes approximately Rs 59,000 crore in projects for Bihar, while Andhra Pradesh received Rs 15,000 crore for its state capital Amaravati, the Polavaram dam project, and additional industrial developments.
Congress President and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, expressed strong disapproval of the Union Budget, saying “Many states have not received fair treatment in the Budget. We are advocating for justice.”
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Responding to it, Sitharaman reminded the grand old party of their budgets and said, “To the point that he (Kharge) raised that I have not named many states, and spoke about only two states. Congress party has been in power for a very long time in this country. They have presented so many different budgets. And they would know clearly that in every budget, you don't get an opportunity to name every state of this country.”