A good government works not only for people who voted in its favour but also for those who did not, said Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin lashing out at the Centre for tabling a “discriminatory” budget. Stalin has boycotted the Niti Ayog meeting in Delhi on Saturday alleging that the union budget did not allocate sufficient funds for the state.
Detailing his decision to boycott the meeting, Stalin charged the Bharatiya Janata Party-led union government has been constantly engaging in hindering progressive programmes of the state government. Stalin charged while all union governments before the Modi regime rose above party lines, the Modi government lacks that “magnanimity”. “BJP runs the union government with political motives, the budget tabled on July 23 is an evidence of it”, Stalin charged.
Stalin said there was no mention of the state ‘Tamil Nadu’ in the budget and this time, they have even forgotten to mention Thirukkural. “I’m relieved there was no mention of Thirukkural in this discriminatory budget,” he said.
The DMK leader said several states boycotted the BJP in recently concluded Lok Sabha elections and the budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman seems like a “vengeful act” against those who voted in favour of the INDIA bloc. Stalin said in the past 10 years, AIIMS-Madurai was the only special project announced for the state.
The Tamil Nadu chief minister said the state expected funds for the second phase of the Chennai metro rail project. “But there was no mention of the project. The Centre hasn’t released any of its funds for the project in the past three years saying it is a ‘state-sponsored’ project,” he said. Stalin added the Centre is yet to accord approval for metro projects in Coimbatore and Madurai while it has projects similar projects in several smaller cities.
Stalin said the state's pleas for disaster relief to the tune of Rs 37,000 crore were not heeded to. “The Centre is adamant it will release funds under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan scheme only if the state implements National Education Policy,” he said.
"When they have not even disbursed the GST compensation of Rs 20,000 crore to Tamil Nadu, who gave them the authority to alter the tax levying system of the states,” he asked. The Centre has prepared this budget to save its chair, he said.
