Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi: Opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) led by the INDIA bloc have organized a protest plan starting Wednesday against the recent Union Budget announcements, extending until the first meeting of the reconstituted governing council of the NITI Aayog on Saturday.
“INDIA MPs will protest against the discrimination of states in the budget at 10:15 am in front of the Parliament House entrance,” announced Manickam Tagore, Congress’ Lok Sabha whip.
Following the budget presentation by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, floor leaders of the INDIA parties convened on Tuesday evening at Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence to strategize their response. Congress leader KC Venugopal expressed the alliance’s discontent: “The concept of the budget has been destroyed this year. The BJP-led central government has discriminated against the majority of states, prompting the INDIA alliance to protest.”
The opposition criticized the budget for favoring BJP-ruled states like Bihar and Andhra Pradesh while neglecting others. Despite their grievances, the opposition will participate in the budget discussions, with Congress representatives Kumari Selja, Shashi Tharoor, and Praniti Shinde leading the debate.
Congress has declared that its chief ministers will not attend the upcoming NITI Aayog governing council meeting on July 27. Venugopal announced, “The Union Budget presented today was extremely discriminatory and dangerous, going against the principles of federalism and fairness. In protest, INC CMs will be boycotting the NITI Aayog meeting scheduled for 27th July.”
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin echoed this sentiment, announcing his boycott of the meeting. He highlighted the budget’s neglect of Tamil Nadu, noting, “The words ‘Tamil’ or ‘Tamil Nadu’ do not appear even once in the entire budget speech.” Stalin pointed out the lack of funding for the Chennai Metro project over the past three years as a further example of this neglect.
While some INDIA bloc chief ministers like Mamata Banerjee of West Bengal and Bhagwant Mann of Punjab have yet to announce their participation, the alliance’s leadership, including Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, has been vocal in their criticism. Kharge condemned the budget for pleasing “just two people” while ignoring the needs of 140 crore Indians, referring to allies of the BJP in Andhra Pradesh and Bihar.
Rahul Gandhi described the budget as a “kursi bachao” (save the chair) budget, accusing the government of appeasing allies and cronies at the expense of other states. Kharge criticized the budget for neglecting key populations, including the middle class, farmers, youth, Scheduled Castes, and Scheduled Tribes. He noted the budget’s failure to address issues like rising prices and the long-pending demands of farmers, such as legal guarantees for the minimum support price (MSP) and subsidies on fertilizers.
Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Akhilesh Yadav and his wife, SP MP Dimple Yadav, also voiced their disapproval. Akhilesh Yadav called the budget “a bundle of despair” for its lack of provisions for unemployment, inflation, farmers, women, and youth. Dimple Yadav criticized the budget for failing to address inflation and the safety of women.
The opposition’s planned protests and boycott reflect a growing dissatisfaction with what they see as a biased and unfair budget, raising tensions as the discussions continue.
