(MENAFN- AsiaNet News) New Delhi:
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman responded to opposition claims of unfair allocation, a day after presenting the 2024 Budget stating that it is not possible to mention every state in the budget speech.
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Addressing Rajya Sabha after the Opposition staged a walkout, Sitharaman said, "It is unfortunate that the Opposition, particularly a senior leader Mallikarjun Kharge who stood up to say his views on what he heard of the budget yesterday. I would think, and maybe it's a bit too much to expect, that in the honour of democracy, at least the Opposition would have stayed here to listen to what I have to respond."
"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," she said.
Congress President and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, criticized the budget and said, "Many didn't get justice. We are fighting for justice."
Sitharaman pointed out that Maharashtra was not mentioned in her budget speeches on February 1 or the previous day.
"The cabinet has, under the leadership of Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi, decided to set up a very big port in Vadhavan in Maharashtra. Did Maharashtra get ignored because I did not mention the name? ₹ 76,000 crore have been announced for that project," FM said.
"If the speech does not mention a particular state, does it mean the schemes of the government of India, the programmes of the government of India, the external aided assistance we obtain don't go to these states?" she asked.
"I would challenge the Congress party, in each of their budget speeches, have they named every state of this country. This is an outrageous allegation," Sitharaman added.
While the budget featured significant allocations for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh-states governed by key BJP allies-the Opposition has accused the government of neglecting other states.
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