Delhi Finance Minister and senior AAP leader Atishi on Friday said that the people of the city have demanded Rs 10,000 crore from the income tax that they pay to the central government every year.
She claimed that the amount was just 5 per cent of the income tax paid by the residents of Delhi, and added that the Centre may spend the rest of the money on making roads and hospitals across the country, but Delhi should also get its rightful share.
Addressing a press conference ahead of the Centre’s budget presentation, Atishi has requested for releasing more funds for the national capital, so the same can be used for the city’s infrastructure and other important purposes.
The minister has claimed that last year Delhi paid around Rs 2.32 lakh crore as tax, and added that in return, the city did not get any money.
The minister, replying to a question said that in 2001 when the city’s budget was around Rs 8,000 crore, the Centre had released Rs 325 crore for Delhi as share of central taxes, and since then up till last year Delhi was being given Rs 325 crore.
However, she claimed that last year the Centre did not even give that rs 325 crore to Delhi.
Atishi has said that other states get thousands of crores from the Centre, but it was not the case with Delhi.
The minister further said that a part of the tax paid by the people last year, which amounts to Rs 35,000 crore, came to the Delhi government, and the same was spent on the people of Delhi, for providing facilities like 24-hour free electricity, free medical treatment, roads and flyovers to the people.
The AAP leader further claimed that Maharashtra, which sends Rs 5 lakh crore tax to the central government, in return, gets Rs 54,000 crore from the Centre.
Income tax of about Rs 2 lakh crore goes to the Centre from Bengaluru, and in return, it gets Rs 33,000 crore, she added.
She further accused the central government of meting out a step- motherly treatment to Delhi, alleging that it is taking money from the people of the city, but not giving any amount in return.
Atishi also said that the budget of the central government, which is for the whole country, is going to be presented on July 23, and last year in 2023-24, the central government had kept a budget of Rs 45 lakh crore for spending across the nation.