Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman addressed the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, responding to the ongoing debate over the Union Budget 2024-25. The Minister rebutted the Opposition’s claims of partiality, citing historical precedents from UPA budgets to support her arguments.
“The first issue I take up is members from the opening speakers talking about how there is a threat to cooperative federalism. Only a few states have been given the benefit in the budget,” stated Sitharaman. She firmly rejected the notion that states not named in the budget speech would be deprived of funds. “In a budget speech, if a state is not named, it doesn’t mean that no money goes to them. Unfortunately, a lot of members did speak about this, which pains me.”
Sitharaman referred to budgets from 2004-2005 to illustrate her point. “The Budget of 2004-2005 did not mention 17 states. I would like to ask the members of the UPA government at that time—did money not go to those 17 states? If they have stopped it, then they have every business to raise questions,” she said. Sitharaman emphasised that multiple states were often not named in UPA-era budgets, yet funds were still allocated.
Highlighting the inconsistencies in the Opposition’s arguments, she remarked, “Seventeen states were not named in 2004-5, 18 states in 2005-6, 13 states in 2006-7, and 16 states in 2007-8. Did money not go to them?” She pointed out that the 2009-10 budget named only Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, 26 states “were not named”, questioning if other states were denied funds then.
VIDEO | “I have been picking up on Budget speeches since 2004-2005, 2005-2006, 2006-2007, 2007-2008 and so on. The Budget of 2004-2005 did not take the name of 17 states. I would like to ask the members of the UPA government at that time – did money not go to those 17 states? Did… pic.twitter.com/vOF931CFBy
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 30, 2024
Addressing the recent budget allocations, Sitharaman said, “We are being blamed that only two states were named and other states are not getting anything. The 2009-10 budget had only two states, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. What does that mean? Then it’s okay when you do it, but you blame the same thing on somebody else.”
Sitharaman also noted the interim budget of 2014-15, which “ignored” 26 states. “Was there a noise? Did people say you ignored those states, you didn’t give them money?” she asked, criticising the Opposition for attempting to “distort” data to create fear among the public. “So you want to distort and create uproar to create a sense of fear among people, you can go about distorting data, but this stands here, sir. In the last few years now, each state we have ministers go and explain how much we have given to each of the states.”
Providing specific examples of financial support to various states, she mentioned, “Bulk drug parks in Himachal Pradesh received Rs 1,900 crore. PM Mitra textile parks went to Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana. Have they not received money for that? Rs 500 crores for Greenfield Park and Rs 200 crores for Brownfield Park.”
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Addressing the issue of Minimum Support Price (MSP), Sitharaman cited the National Commission on Farmers’ 2006 recommendation for MSP to be 50% more than the weighted average cost of production. “This was not accepted by the UPA government. The cabinet note, drafted in July 2007, said MSP is recommended by the CACP on objective criteria considering various factors. The UPA government rejected the MS Swaminathan report in 2007,” she stated, accusing the Congress Party of shedding “crocodile tears” for farmers.
Sitharaman reassured that no sector received lesser allocation compared to the previous year. She confirmed compliance with the fiscal deficit trajectory, aiming to bring it down to below 4.5% by 2025-26. Additionally, she highlighted the substantial financial support of Rs 17,000 crore provided to Jammu and Kashmir in the Union Budget, including Rs 12,000 crore for the Jammu and Kashmir Police, to give the region more flexibility for development activities.
“An additional central assistance of Rs 5,000 crores has also been provided,” she added.
