Opposition MPs from Kerala have criticised the first Union budget of the third Narendra Modi-led NDA government, flagging the alleged neglect of the southern state.
MPs belonging to the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and the lone CPM MP from Kerala called out the bias the budget has shown to Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, ruled by JDU and TDP respectively, whose support is crucial for the survival of the third Modi government.
Congress MP K C Venugopal called it a ''Sarkar Bachao Budget, driven by the political compulsions for the survival of this lame duck government,''
''This will do nothing to address inflation, nothing to solve the farmers’ crisis, and absolutely nothing for the middle classes. Much like the 10 budgets, this Union Budget is also far removed from the concerns of the ordinary Indian. While the government has belatedly recognised that job creation is the need of the hour, its so called announcements are totally insincere and non-serious. They could not even properly copy from our Nyay Patra (Congress LS poll manifesto),'' Venugopal said.
N K Premachandran of RSP, a Congress ally, said that the extreme focus given to Bihar and Andhra in the budget indicated the instability of the government. He said the general nature of the budget was missing in the latest one and non-BJP ruled states were discriminated against. He said that even the allocations made for Bihar and Andhra are mere announcements as they were about projects already being implemented.
He said that states like Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu did not find any mention in the budget. Premachandran was particularly critical about the neglect of Kerala and neighbouring Tamil Nadu when it came to the allocations for flood mitigation. ''Kerala suffered a deluge in 2018 and Chennai had gone under water during floods. Yet the two states found no mention,'' he said.
CPM’s K Radhakrishnan echoed the opposition criticism, saying the budget only catered to the needs of certain regions.
No women and youth in Kerala?
Responding to the opposition’s allegations, BJP’s Union Minister of State for Tourism and Petroleum, Suresh Gopi sought to defend the budget citing the focus it gives to youth and women. ''Aren’t there any woman and youth in Kerala? No fisheries too,'' he asked media.
Asked about the budget not mentioning Kerala’s long-pending demand for an All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), the actor-turned-MP said Kerala will get AIIMS as and when it identifies the right land for it.
