'Bihar Budget' does only jugglery of words; has nothing for TN: Palaniswami

CHENNAI: In a rare instance where the ruling and opposition parties in the State were found on the same page, Tamil Nadu's main opposition AIADMK on Saturday alleged that the Union Budget appeared to be "Bihar Budget," and flayed the BJP-led Centre for not announcing special schemes for the State.

AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami said the Budget did not have special schemes for states like Tamil Nadu and it appeared to be "Bihar's Budget," rather than the Union Budget, as several development schemes have been announced for that State where the Assembly election is due later this year.

The Economic Survey said a growth rate of not less than eight per cent is needed for over a decade to achieve the goal of a developed India (Viksit Bharat) by 2047. However, since the Budget has only increased the exemption limit for personal income tax, it appeared to be a document of "jugglery of words", and increasing growth rate to eight per cent remained a "big question mark", said Palaniswami, the former chief minister and presently the Leader of Opposition.

Though substantially increasing the income tax exemption limit was a welcome move, it does not have any special schemes, river-interlinking initiatives, railway schemes and Metro Rail projects for Coimbatore and Madurai for Tamil Nadu. Also, there was nothing to create job opportunities and give a boost to skill development initiatives, he charged.

Incidentally, the AIADMK and the BJP were in alliance for several years till the national party’s State unit president K Annamalai decided to chart a solitary path to strengthen it in Tamil Nadu. This put it on a collision course with the AIADMK, especially Palaniswami, who was the target of Annamalai’s barbs. After the two parted ways, the AIADMK and its leaders have been stringent in their criticism against the BJP and its government at the Centre.