Rahul Gandhi and key Opposition leaders accuse the budget of favouring select states and neglecting others, say will continue their fight for equal justice
Oppn MPs led by Congress protest inside Parliament premises alleging discrimination in Budget. Pic/PTI
INDIA bloc MPs staged a protest in Parliament premises on Wednesday over the alleged discrimination against opposition-ruled states in the Union Budget, with Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi saying the budget is an “assault on the sanctity of India’s federal structure”.
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Besides Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress Parliamentary Party chief Sonia Gandhi, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, several MPs of the Congress, TMC, Samajwadi Party, DMK and the Left joined the protest held on the steps leading up to the Makar Dwar of Parliament.
Protesting against the budget, Kharge said, “This budget is anti-people, no one has got justice. They have talked about special package but special status has not been given. This is a deceptive budget and injustice to the people.”
Sharing a picture of the protest on his WhatsApp channel, Rahul Gandhi said, “Today, along with INDIA janbandhan MPs, protested against NDA’s ‘Kursi Bachao Budget’ in Parliament House premises.”
“This budget is an assault on the sanctity of India’s federal structure - in the greed for power, other states of the country have been neglected and discriminated against. INDIA bloc will continue to raise its voice to provide equal justice to every state of India,” Gandhi said in his post on WhatsApp channel in Hindi.
Finance minister defends budget
The finance minister said she did not name many states either in the interim budget presented in February ahead of general election or in the full budget tabled in Parliament, but that does not mean that government schemes are not working for the states. She cited the example of Maharashtra, which was not named in either of the budgets, and said that did not prevent the Union Cabinet from approving the Rs 76,000-cr Vadhavan port project in Dahanu in the state last month.
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