Budget 2024: ‘Mataji bolne mein…’ Kharge Vs Nirmala in Rajya Sabha over ‘discrimination’ with states

Congress president and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge condemned the Budget 2024 on July 24, accusing the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Centre of neglecting states. Kharge said all states, except Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, received nothing in Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget 2024.

The Congress leader listed states, including Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Karnataka, that, according to him, didn’t get anything in the budget. He alleged that the budget was to ‘please a few people’ and protect the chair.

While speaking in Rajya Sabha, during the discussion on Budget 2024, Kharge said, he expected that at least Karnataka, the state the FM represents, would get something, but it didn’t. While Kharge spoke,Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar allowed the FM to respond, and the Congress count said, “Main bol deta hun. Mataji bolne mein toh expert hain mujhe maloom hai. (Let me finish. Mataji is an expert in speaking, I am aware of that.).”

The opposition parties, including the Congress, have accused the PM Modi-led Union government of favouring just their allies—the TDP and the JD-U—by announcing significant allocations and projects for Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. The TDP is in power in Andhra Pradesh, and the JD-U is in power in Bihar.

The Finance Minister responded, denying Opposition parties’ allegations of neglect and discrimination. She said it is not possible to name every state in the budget.

“Let me take Maharashtra, for instance. Between the vote on account and yesterday’s budget, the cabinet has passed a very important decision to set up a very big part in Vadhavan,” Sitharaman said, referring to the proposed deep-sea port in the state’s Palghar district.

” ₹76,000 crores have been announced for that project,” the FM said, wondering if Maharashtra was ignored because the name was not taken in the budget.

Sitharaman accused the Opposition of misleading people. “I am saying with responsibility that this is a ‘deliberate attempt’ of the opposition parties led by the Congress to give the people the wrong impression that their states were not allocated funds or schemes,” said Sitharaman.

Earlier in the day, INDIA bloc Members of Parliament (MPs), including Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chief Sonia Gandhi and LoP in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, staged a protest in Parliament premises over the alleged discrimination against opposition-ruled states in the Union Budget. Members from TMC, Samajwadi Party, DMK and the Left joined the protest held in front of the Parliament.

Sitharaman presented her record seventh consecutive Union Budget 2024-25 today, July 23, in the Parliament. The Finance Minister announced significant financial aid for Andhra Pradesh and major infrastructure projects for Bihar.