Union Budget | Telangana CM accuses NDA govt of being biased against state
Revanth described the Union Budget as “kursi bachao budget (budget to save chair)” as it sought to please NDA partners TDP and JDU
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Tuesday (July 23) alleged that the NDA government at the Centre has “exhibited bias against the state by completely ignoring it” in the Union Budget.
Coming down heavily on the NDA government, Revanth described the Union Budget as “kursi bachao budget (budget to save chair)” as it sought to please NDA partners TDP and JDU.
NDA means “Naidu-Nitish Dependent Alliance”, he said, addressing a press conference to respond on the budget presented in Parliament by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Asks Reddy to resign
The chief minister also demanded that Union Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy, who is the state BJP president, quit his post over the “injustice” done to the state.
Revanth said that after assuming power, he as CM had welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he visited the state and even referred to him as elder brother as his government intended to maintain cordial relations with the Centre.
The state government had submitted several requests for funds for development projects to the Centre, he said. All their 8 Lok Sabha MPs from Telangana would protest over the “raw deal” given to the state in the budget, he added.
Debate in assembly
The Centre's “discrimination” of Telangana would be debated in the legislative assembly on Wednesday and a resolution would be passed on the issue, he said.
When Modi had “found fault with the process of Telangana formation” in the past, people of the state did not expect that he had such “bias” against the state, Revanth exclaimed.
“It appears that he (Modi) has been showing bias against Telangana from the beginning. We did not understand when it was said that Centre shows discrimination towards Opposition-ruled states. But, now our government clearly feels that the Narendra Modiji's government acted in a biased manner towards the Telangana people,” he said.
Making it clear that he is not opposed to the Centre giving funds to other states, Revanth said that he is seeking the state's legitimate rights to be acknowledged and funds allocated to them.
(With agency inputs)
