By NEW DELHI: On Wednesday, Congress president and leader of the opposition Mallikarjun Kharge criticized the BJP-led government, alleging that the Union Budget for 2024-25 favors only two states, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, while neglecting the rest of the country.
Kharge Labels Budget as “Kursi-Bachao” Document, Criticizes Alleged State Bias
Kharge referred to the budget as a “kursi-bachao” document, leading the charge by Congress and other INDIA bloc parties against this perceived favoritism. He stated, “No state received anything in the Modi government’s budget. The states where people have rejected the BJP got nothing from this budget! Everyone’s plate is empty, while the plates of two states have pakora and jalebi. This budget was introduced solely to save his chair.”
As Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar urged Kharge to allow finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman to respond, Kharge commented, “Main bol deta hun. Mataji bolne mein toh expert hain mujhe maloom hai.”
Key Points:
- Accusation of Bias: Kharge accuses the BJP-led government of favoring Bihar and Andhra Pradesh in the Union Budget for 2024-25.
- Criticism: He claims that states which rejected BJP got nothing, while highlighting the perceived favoritism.
- Response to Chairman: Kharge’s remark about Sitharaman’s expertise in speaking during the session.
Kharge Leads Protest, Sitharaman Defends Budget’s State Allocation
Kharge argued that development requires a balanced approach among all states. As finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman was given the floor to respond, Kharge led the opposition bloc out of the House in protest.
Sitharaman countered by noting that she had not mentioned many states in either the interim budget presented in February or the full budget tabled on Tuesday. She emphasized that this omission does not mean government schemes are not benefiting those states. She cited the example of Maharashtra, which, although not mentioned in either budget, received approval for the Rs 76,000-crore Vadhavan port project in Dahanu last month.
“If the speech does not mention the name of a particular state, does it mean that the schemes of the Government of India, the programmes of the Government of India, the externally-aided assistance which we obtain from the World Bank, ADB, AIIB, and institutions like that do not go to these states? They go as per a routine,” she explained.
