Opposition protests ‘bias’ in Budget, FM Nirmala Sitharaman says charge outrageous

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, July 24

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday dismissed the Opposition’s accusations that the Union Budget she presented yesterday was discriminatory and dared the Congress to reveal whether the budgets presented under its regimes mentioned every state in the country.

“This is an outrageous allegation, a deliberate attempt by the Congress-led Opposition to give an impression to the people that other states (barring Andhra Pradesh and Bihar) have not got anything….this is unacceptable. I challenge the Congress to say whether it named all states in the many budgets it presented in the past when it was in the government?” a combative Nirmala asked in the Rajya Sabha today.

She was countering Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, who accused the government of neglecting non-BJP ruled states in the Budget and led the Opposition walkout over the issue.

Answering the allegations levelled by the opposition INDIA bloc, Nirmala said the Finance Minister did not have the opportunity to name every state of the country. “Between the vote of account I presented in February and the full Budget presented yesterday, I have not named many states. During this period, I have also not named Maharashtra. However, the union Cabinet under PM Narendra Modi only recently passed a very important decision to build a major port, costing Rs 76,000 crore, in Maharashtra.

Does my not naming Maharashtra in the Budget mean we have ignored Maharashtra? No,” the FM said.

She said even to the states not flagged in the Budget, “government schemes and external assistance we take from multilateral banks and agencies flow in routine”.

“These things go to states as per routine. This (discrimination allegation) is outrageous,” the FM said.

The Finance Minister also hurled barbs at the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, saying the party never implemented a range of Central Government schemes rolled out for every state but had the “audacity to question the Union Budget”.

“Several schemes provided by the PM in the past 10 years have not been implemented by Bengal and you have the audacity to ask me today that nothing has been given to Bengal?,” Sitharaman said countering the Opposition.

Earlier today, the Congress-led INDIA parties protested outside Parliament alleging neglect of states where opposition parties are ruling.

Congress parliamentary party chief Sonia Gandhi also joined the protest.

Citing neglect, chief ministers of INDIA bloc-led states have announced a boycott of the July 27 NITI Aayog governing council meeting, which will be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Union Budget yesterday rolled out a 75,000-crore financial assistance for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, which the BJP rules in alliance with the JD(U) and the TDP. The two regional parties are also government partners at the Centre and fill the gap of seats needed to maintain a majority in the Lok Sabha.

Kharge’s ‘FM mataji’ jibe draws VP’s ire

Vice-President and RS Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar found himself defending the FM after LoP Mallikarjun Kharge hurled a “mataji” jibe at her. “Mataji knows well how to speak,” Kharge said in the RS, referring to Nirmala Sitharaman (64), just before he led the Opposition walkout on the alleged neglect of non-BJP-ruled states in the Budget. “She’s like your daughter,” Dhankhar said to Kharge, 82.