Union Budget has betrayed TN, says govt; a disappointment: AIADMK

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government and the opposition AIADMK slammed the Union Budget on Tuesday allegedly for ignoring the state and for favouring the BJP allies ruled states.

The Centre has consistently chosen to ignore the demands raised by Chief Minister M K Stalin on a numerous issues and also the requests that he had placed before the Union government, state Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu said.

"It is true that Tamil Nadu has been betrayed. Though the Centre has been lavish in allocating funds to several states, it has not accepted the demands of our Chief Minister," Thennarasu told reporters here.

Responding to a question on the Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Parliament earlier in the day, he said, the Centre has not accepted the demands that he had conveyed on behalf of the Tamil Nadu government.

Opposition AIADMK termed the Budget as "a big disappointment" in all aspects and claimed that it was prepared "only to satisfy" the BJP allies' ruled states and not for equitable economic development of India.

The lack of any new announcements for Tamil Nadu showed the BJP government's "grudge" towards the state, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami said.

He expressed dismay over the DMK and its allies for not taking any steps to ensure projects for the state. "It was also disappointing that despite the people sending 39 MPs from the DMK camp to the Parliament, the ruling party and allies have not ensured any initiative to the state," Palaniswami said in a statement here.

The DMK and allies have not attempted to take any steps from 2019 to 2024 and they are likely to remain "silent," he alleged.

Although a major chunk of allocation for flood relief has been made for Bihar, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Sikkim, the Budget has not earmarked flood relief for Tamil Nadu, he said.

BJP's ally and PMK founder Dr Ramadas expressed disappointment that the Budget did not spell out any projects for Tamil Nadu, although it had made numerous good announcements including slashing tax and reducing customs duty on goods such as gold, silver, mobile phones, and in announcing several new schemes.

TNCC president K Selvaperunthagai termed the Budget as "regressive" that has no scope for growth, does not increase employment opportunities and does not remove the economic disparity prevailing in the society.

MDMK chief Vaiko, another ally of the ruling DMK, said the demands of the farmers have not been met.

CPI state secretary R Mutharasan said the Budget has been presented by the BJP to "retain power." "There are no achievements except that the same Finance Minister has presented the Budget again," he added.