• By Vivek Raj
  • Wed, 24 Jul 2024 07:54 AM (IST)
  • Source:JND

The opposition INDIA bloc has announced a protest at Parliament on Wednesday over the Union Budget, labeling it as "discriminatory" against opposition-ruled states. Leaders of the INDIA bloc gathered at Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge's residence to discuss their strategy, sson after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the first budget of Modi 3.0 government.

Prominent attendees included Congress MPs Rahul Gandhi and KC Venugopal, NCP (SCP) chief Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, TMC's Derek O'Brien and Kalyan Banerjee, DMK's TR Baalu, JMM's Mahua Maji, AAP's Raghav Chadha and Sanjay Singh and others.

The protest is reportedly scheduled to start at 10:30 am on Wednesday near the stairs of Parliament.

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After the meeting, Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal said, "The concept of the budget has already been destroyed by this year's Union Budget. They have completely discriminated against most of the states. So the INDIA alliance meeting was held on how to oppose it."

Congress MP Pramod Tiwari dubbed the budget as the ‘BJP budget’. Meanwhile, the leader of the opposition Rahul Gandhi also criticised the Union budget 2024-25 calling it a "Kursi Bachao Budget".

"Kursi Bachao Budget. Appease Allies: Hollow promises to them at the cost of other states. Appease Cronies: Benefits to AA with no relief for the common Indian. Copy and Paste: Congress manifesto and previous budgets," Rahul Gandhi wrote in a post on X.

As part of their protest, Congress chief ministers will boycott the NITI Aayog meeting scheduled for July 27.

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Mallikarjun Kharge also took to social media and described the budget as distributing "half-hearted 'rewadis' to dupe its coalition partners so that the NDA survives." He criticised it as not being a budget for the progress of the country but a "save Modi government" budget.

"Modi Government's 'copycat budget' could not even copy Congress' justice agenda properly,” Kharge added.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh pointed out to the absence of funds for the decadal Population Census, which has been delayed since 2021.