Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin
Credit: PTI Photo
Chennai: Accusing the BJP of trying to “punish” states like Tamil Nadu that have outright rejected its “communal and hate politics” by “ignoring” them in the Union Budget, Chief Minister M K Stalin on Tuesday announced he will boycott the NITI Aayog Governing Council meeting on July 27 convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a mark of protest.
In a four-page statement, Stalin launched a frontal attack on the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government of “deliberately” ignoring Tamil Nadu and trying to settle “scores” for the 2024 Lok Sabha electoral defeat through the Union Budget. Principal Opposition party, AIADMK, too spoke on similar lines with its general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami accusing the Centre of having a “grudge” against Tamil Nadu.
During a brief interaction with reporters, Stalin said he would boycott the meeting of the NITI Aayog Governing Council in New Delhi on July 27 to protest against the Union Budget “disregard” for Tamil Nadu. “There was no mention of Tamil or Tamil Nadu in Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s speech. Not even Thirukkural. In protest against the injustice rendered to my state, I will boycott the NITI Ayog meeting,” Stalin added.
The DMK chief also alleged that the Union Budget looked like an “alliance agreement” arrived at with those ruling Andhra Pradesh and Bihar rather than being an exercise for the whole country.
“The Budget has allotted financial resources to certain states generously for political reasons, while spewing hatred on states like Tamil Nadu which continue to reject the communal politics of the BJP. It is sad that the BJP wants to settle electoral scores through the Budget,” Stalin added.
The chief minister pointed out that Tamil Nadu has not been allotted funds for relief and rehabilitation of the recent calamities despite submitting detailed reports, while states like Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Assam, and Bihar have been allotted funds.
He also took objection to the Budget not allocating funds for the second phase of the Chennai Metro Rail and also for not making announcements about metro rail projects for Coimbatore and Madurai. Punching holes in some of the schemes announced in the Budget, Stalin said they look like a copy of the Tamil Nadu Budget presented in February 2024.
“In particular, the Union government has announced today that it will provide skill training to 20 lakh youth across the country for the next five years. However, it is noteworthy that in Tamil Nadu alone, we provide skill training to more than 15 lakh youths every year,” he said.
Stalin also took potshots at the Centre for asking state governments to reduce stamp duty, which is the domain of the state administration under the Constitution.
“There is no announcement to compensate for this revenue loss. Therefore, the Union Government should provide compensation to offset the reduction in stamp duty. The Centre hasn’t compensated the state for the annual loss of Rs 20,000 crore to Tamil Nadu due to implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST),” he added.
Union Budget 2024 LIVE | Making a record for any Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman presented her 7th consecutive Union Budget on July 23, 2024 under the Modi 3.0 government. This Budget brought tax relief for the middle class, while focusing on jobs through skilling, incentivising employers. Track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analysis only on Deccan Herald. Also follow us on WhatsApp, LinkedIn, X, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.