Savikalpa Thapa, Pune
Chief Ministers of the Opposition party have decided to boycott the NITI Aayog meeting on 27 July by not attending it as a protest against the ‘discriminatory’ budget or ‘Sarkar Bachao Budget’ as termed by Congress.
General Secretary of Congress Venugopal on X(formerly Twitter) termed the Union Budget 2024 as ‘discriminatory’ and ‘dangerous’ that resists the principles of Federalism and Fairness which must be followed by the Union Government and announced his action of boycotting the NITI Ayog meeting as a protest.
He also stated, “This government’s attitude is completely antithetical to Constitutional principles. We will not participate in an event that is solely designed to hide the true, discriminatory colors of this regime.”
In a press conference, M K Stalin, Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister also announced his absence from the NITI Aayog meeting as a protest. He highlighted the drastic shrink in the allocation of state welfare schemes and the absence of new initiatives to support Tamil Nadu’s economic development that will have a damaging impact on the weak part of the society.
Further, he said that Tamil Nadu is suffering the biggest betrayal in this budget.
Karnataka’s Chief Minister Siddaramaiah expressed his feelings of Kannadigas not being heard, in a social media post and that there is no point in attending the meeting. He stated that his efforts to call an all-party Member of Parliament’s discussion was rejected and demands of the farmers to approve Mekedatu and Mahadayi were ignored.
He also termed the Metro funds and other infa projects a “distant dream.” He labelled the budget as anti-people who ignored the Scheduled Castes, Tribes and the poor.
Amidst this protest, Mamta Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal has canceled her flight to Delhi but it’s not sure if her trip has been canceled or postponed.
A member of the State Cabinet said that it’s not final yet and he also refused to comment on the reason for Banerjee’s flight cancellation.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Rajya Sabha said that the allegations of the budget being “discriminatory” are outrageous and that Congress is deliberately trying to give the people an impression that funds were not allocated to their states.