Editor's Pick | Opposition slams budget as ‘unfair’; government denies charge

In both Houses of Parliament, the Opposition on Wednesday attacked the government, accusing it of presenting a “discriminatory budget” that excluded the States ruled by parties that are not part of the National Democratic Alliance. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman issued a strong rebuttal to this in the Rajya Sabha, saying the Opposition was deliberately maligning the government and giving a wrong impression that some States had been left out. The Upper House saw a sharp exchange of words between the two sides on Wednesday morning. The Opposition staged a walkout in protest. Congress president and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said only two States had benefited from the Budget. He said it was a Budget aimed solely at safeguarding the BJP-led NDA government. “Opposition party-ruled States have been neglected. How will development happen if there is no balance? I condemn this and all the parties condemn this type of attitude,” he said. Ms. Sitharaman reacted strongly to the accusation, saying that all the States could not be named in the Budget, and the Congress, which had been in power for long, should know better than to make such an allegation. The finer details about scheme-wise allocations were available for all to see in the Budget documents, she said. “The Cabinet, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, decided to set up a port at Vadhavan, but Maharashtra’s name was not included in the Budget [speech]. Does this mean that Maharashtra should feel ignored?” she said, adding that ₹76,000 crore had been allocated for the project. “This is a deliberate attempt of the Opposition parties led by the Congress to give the people the wrong impression that their States were not allocated funds or schemes,” she said. Former Finance Minister and Rajya Sabha MP P. Chidambaram criticised the special treatment to Andhra Pradesh and Bihar in the Budget. “I don’t grudge at all that you are giving relief to Andhra Pradesh or Bihar, but what about the other States? We are a federal country. This is the death knell of federalism if you pick and choose among States. You are the Union of India, you are the Union government, you are the government of all the States. You cannot pick and choose one State and deny relief to another State,” Mr. Chidambaram said. While unemployment is the biggest challenge for the government, Mr. Chidambaram said the government’s latest employment-linked scheme did not instil confidence and will be another election “jumla” (insincere promise). On inflation, he said the Finance Minister had dismissed the subject in 10 words. “Is inflation such a trivial subject?” Mr. Chidambaram asked, citing data from the government on inflation. He said the bank rate set by the Reserve Bank of India is a good measure to know where inflation is moving, and added that the Centre was unable to reach the target of 4% inflation in the last four years. In the Lok Sabha, too, the Opposition levelled a similar charge. Initiating the debate in the Lok Sabha, Congress MP Kumari Selja termed the budget a collection of “jumlas”, cautioning NDA members Nitish Kumar and N. Chandrababu Naidu that they “may celebrate today for getting a large share” but time could change. Before the two Houses sat down for business, the Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc members staged a protest. Mr. Gandhi has told the 20 Congress MPs, who are slated to speak during the debate on the Union Budget, to ensure they highlighted the raw deal meted out to the States ruled by parties outside the NDA, rather than lament the heavy allocations for Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. This Budget is a “kursi bachao (save the chair)” exercise, and the speeches must reflect that, Mr. Gandhi is learnt to have told the members Opposition MPs termed the allocations to the States ruled by the NDA constituents as an “insurance” to save a fragile coalition under the BJP. The Hindu’s Editorial Cleansing NEET: On a recast test Not in order: On the Kanwar Yatra and directive on display of names The Hindu’s Daily Quiz Who is the Chief Economic Advisor to the Government of India? Arvind Subramanian V. Anantha Nageswaran Raghuram Rajan Krishnamurthy Subramanian To know the answer and to play the full quiz, click here. [logo] Editor's Pick 25 July 2024 [The Hindu logo] [EP Logo] Editor's Pick 25 July 2024 In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [View in browser]( [More newsletters]( Opposition slams budget as ‘unfair’; government denies charge In both Houses of Parliament, the Opposition on Wednesday attacked the government, [accusing it of presenting a “discriminatory budget”]( that excluded the States ruled by parties that are not part of the National Democratic Alliance. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman issued a strong rebuttal to this in the Rajya Sabha, saying the Opposition was deliberately maligning the government and giving a wrong impression that some States had been left out. The Upper House saw a sharp exchange of words between the two sides on Wednesday morning. The Opposition staged a walkout in protest. Congress president and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said only two States had benefited from the Budget. He said it was a Budget aimed solely at safeguarding the BJP-led NDA government. “Opposition party-ruled States have been neglected. How will development happen if there is no balance? I condemn this and all the parties condemn this type of attitude,” he said. Ms. Sitharaman reacted strongly to the accusation, saying that all the States could not be named in the Budget, and the Congress, which had been in power for long, should know better than to make such an allegation. The finer details about scheme-wise allocations were available for all to see in the Budget documents, she said. “The Cabinet, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, decided to set up a port at Vadhavan, but Maharashtra’s name was not included in the Budget [speech]. Does this mean that Maharashtra should feel ignored?” she said, adding that ₹76,000 crore had been allocated for the project. “This is a deliberate attempt of the Opposition parties led by the Congress to give the people the wrong impression that their States were not allocated funds or schemes,” she said. Former Finance Minister and Rajya Sabha MP P. Chidambaram criticised the [special treatment to Andhra Pradesh]( and [Bihar in the Budget.]( “I don’t grudge at all that you are giving relief to Andhra Pradesh or Bihar, but what about the other States? We are a federal country. This is the death knell of federalism if you pick and choose among States. You are the Union of India, you are the Union government, you are the government of all the States. You cannot pick and choose one State and deny relief to another State,” Mr. Chidambaram said. While unemployment is the biggest challenge for the government, Mr. Chidambaram said the government’s latest employment-linked scheme did not instil confidence and will be another election “jumla” (insincere promise). On inflation, he said the Finance Minister had dismissed the subject in 10 words. “Is inflation such a trivial subject?” Mr. Chidambaram asked, citing data from the government on inflation. He said the bank rate set by the Reserve Bank of India is a good measure to know where inflation is moving, and added that the Centre was unable to reach the target of 4% inflation in the last four years. In the Lok Sabha, too, the Opposition levelled a similar charge. Initiating the debate in the Lok Sabha, Congress MP Kumari Selja termed the budget a collection of “jumlas”, cautioning NDA members Nitish Kumar and N. Chandrababu Naidu that they “may celebrate today for getting a large share” but time could change. Before the two Houses sat down for business, the Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc members staged a protest. Mr. Gandhi has told the 20 Congress MPs, who are slated to speak during the debate on the Union Budget, to ensure they highlighted the raw deal meted out to the States ruled by parties outside the NDA, rather than lament the heavy allocations for Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. This Budget is a “kursi bachao (save the chair)” exercise, and the speeches must reflect that, [Mr. Gandhi is learnt to have told the members Opposition MPs]( termed the allocations to the States ruled by the NDA constituents as an [“insurance” to save a fragile coalition under the BJP.]( The Hindu’s Editorial [Arrow][Cleansing NEET: On a recast test]( [Arrow][Not in order: On the Kanwar Yatra and directive on display of names]( The Hindu’s Daily Quiz Who is the Chief Economic Advisor to the Government of India? - Arvind Subramanian - V. Anantha Nageswaran - Raghuram Rajan - Krishnamurthy Subramanian To know the answer and to play the full quiz, click here. 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