The AAP led Punjab government while discussing solidarity with INDIA bloc has come to a conclusion that the chief minister of Punjab Bhagwant Mann will not attend the meeting of NITI AYOG that is to be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 27th of July.
This decision was revealed on Wednesday after the opposition parties claimed that the union budget that was presented on 27th of July was rather biased and discriminatory as it did not grant enough funds for the state which are not ruled by non-NDA parties
Accusing of the discriminatory and biased behavior of the ruling party towards the INDIA bloc ruled states in the latest budget, aside from this chief minister of west Bengal Mamta Banerjee, all the INDIA bloc chief minister have decided to boycott the NITI AYOG meeting.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin first announced the boycott in Chennai. Following this, the congress said its chief ministers, including Himachal Pradesh’s Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, Karnataka’s Siddaramaiah and Telangana’s Revanth Reddy, would skip the meeting.
Along with Punjab Cm Bhagwant Mann, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren and kerala CM pinarayi vijayan are also expected to miss the meeting.
However, reports indicate that Mamata Banerjee and TMC’s Derek O’Brien will attend the NITI Aayog meeting and use the platform to hold the Union government accountable for Bengal’s legitimate dues.
Addressing the Telangana Legislative Assembly on Wednesday, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy announced that his government would boycott the NITI Aayog meeting on July 27 to protest against what he described as the central government’s alleged injustice to the state in fund allocation.
“As a mark of protest against the Central Government, we, the Telangana Government, are boycotting the NITI Aayog meeting to be held on July 27th. The Centre has violated the rights of Telangana. There is injustice to the state in the allocation of funds,” Reddy stated in the Assembly.
Reddy also criticized the previous BRS government in the state and challenged former CM K Chandrashekar Rao to join him in the Deeksha protest at Jantar mantar Delhi for telngana’s benefit. This challenge came after heated discussions in the assembly about the alleged discrimination against Telangana in the unio budget.
Meanwhile, discussions on the Union Budget 2024-25, presented on July 23, will continue in both Houses of Parliament on Thursday. The budget for Jammu and Kashmir for 2024-25, which was also presented on Tuesday, will also be discussed today.
Union Ministers Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Jitendra Singh, Arjun Ram Meghwal, and Kirtivardhan Singh will present papers in Parliament today. Both Houses of Parliament began discussions on the Union Budget 2024 on July 24, with opposition parties criticizing it as “discriminatory” to most states and lacking vision.
Former Finance Minister and Congress MP P Chidambaram initiated the discussion in Rajya Sabha, while Congress MP Kumari Selja commenced the discussion in Lok Sabha. Chidambaram highlighted four significant challenges, noting that the most pressing is unemployment. According to data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), the unemployment rate for June 2024 stands at 9.2 percent.
Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee criticized the Modi government, asserting that the Union Budget lacks clarity and vision. He alleged that the budget was designed to satisfy BJP’s coalition partners and claimed, “it was planned by two individuals to keep another two in good faith.