Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin criticised the Union Budget for neglecting the State’s various demands, including funds for highways, railways, and metro projects in Coimbatore and Madurai.
“Tamil Nadu occupies a prominent place in all the reports of the Union Government, such as the Economic Survey, the Ranking of Higher Education Institutions and the NITI Aayog report. Page after page, Tamil Nadu’s activities are praised. However, why is Tamil Nadu completely ignored this year in the Budget report,” rues Chief Minister MK Stalin reacting to the Union Budget ignoring the State’s demands.
Is the Union Budget Statement a step-motherly when it comes to Tamil Nadu? Even the name Tamil Nadu does not appear regularly, said Stalin. “Shouldn’t the financial allocation reflect at least a small part of the interest shown in imposing policies and language that Tamil Nadu does not accept?” he added.
Financial burden
As the Union Government keeps reducing its share in its projects, the financial burden on the State government is increasing. The Union Government, which provides very little subsidy in various projects, has imposed various restrictions on Tamil Nadu alone.
If the plans and funds are announced only for the State in which elections are to be held and where the BJP coalition is in power, then what is the need to call it a ‘united’ budget statement, he said.
“In all my years in Parliament, this is the first time I have had the opportunity to listen to Bihar State Budget in Parliament,” said DMK MP Kanimozhi in a social media post.