Smarting from the neglect of Tamil Nadu in the Union Budget 2024, Chief Minister MK Stalin on Wednesday cautioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying, “Running the government to suit political likes and dislikes instead of being above board will result in your isolation.”
As the INDIA bloc MPs staged a protest against the discrimination meted out to opposition-ruled states in the budget, Stalin took to X (formerly Twitter) to send a strong message to the Prime Minister. “Don’t remain vindictive and bent upon taking revenge on those who have defeated your party. Run the government evenly, ensuring that it is for all,” he said in a post.
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Charging the Prime Minister with belying his own words that ‘election is over and henceforth we have to think only about the country,’ Stalin said, “The budget presented on Tuesday will only help protect your government and the nation.”
Earlier on Tuesday, he had announced his decision to boycott the NITI Aayog meet, chaired by the Prime Minister, to register his protest. Other chief ministers of neighbouring Karnataka, Telangana, and Himachal Pradesh have followed suit.
The budget has been a huge disappointment for political parties in the state, except for the BJP. Tamil Nadu’s wish list included Rs 63,000 crore for Chennai Metro Rail Phase II, approval for Metro Rail projects for Coimbatore and Madurai, and Rs 37,000 crore for flood relief. Since none of these were granted, Stalin termed the budget as a ‘betrayal of Tamil Nadu’ and a ‘grave injustice’.
The opposition AIADMK too has condemned the budget with party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami saying, “it showed a deep-rooted grudge against the state.”
Countering Stalin and the criticism of the budget, Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai, in a lengthy post on X, listed the central assistance to the state by successive Modi governments, which he claimed was significantly higher than during the Congress-led UPA regime, in which the DMK was a constituent.
