Sitharaman terms opposition's charge of ignoring non-BJP ruled states 'unfounded'

New Delhi, Feb 13 (PTI) Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday asserted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has not ignored any state and rebutted Opposition claims of favouring only NDA-ruled states as "unfounded".

Listing out the initiatives taken by the central government for various states, Sitharaman told the Rajya Sabha that it is not right to say that states were not consulted before the Budget.

Strongly contesting claims by the Opposition parties that the Budget 2025-26 focused on states ruled by BJP and its allies, the finance minister said those claims are "just unfounded".

"Is it a Bihar bonanza Budget? Is it a Budget for only one state?... does it mean no other state gets anything? It has been repeatedly being asked and I have been answering it," Sitharaman said.

She mentioned about steps taken by the Centre for the development of states, including Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

"Whether it is Bihar or only BJP states, it is just an unfounded allegation. I want to dispel the thought from the members," the minister said.

The Centre is not ignoring any state, she said and sought to highlight the initiatives taken for Tamil Nadu, her native state which is ruled by Opposition DMK.

While replying to the discussion on the Budget, Sitharaman also responded to some DMK members in Tamil and asserted that the Centre has done a lot for Tamil Nadu as she listed out various infrastructure projects in the state.

"It was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who, despite the silent partnership and a result which was against the people of Tamil Nadu, removed the ban on JalliKattu," she said.

With regard to Kerala, the minister said that among other initiatives, over 1,300 kilometres of national highway has been constructed in the state since 2014.

Tamil Nadu and Kerala have been voicing concerns over the Centre neglecting their needs and not providing required funds in the Budget.

Sitharaman also mentioned that Telangana was once a revenue-surplus state and now it has a revenue deficit. The state is ruled by Congress now.

The House also witnessed a walkout by several opposition parties.

In her nearly two-hour reply, Sitharaman emphasised no cut has been made in the capital expenditure allocation in the Union Budget. For 2025-26 fiscal, the total effective capital expenditure is proposed to be Rs 15.48 lakh crore, which is 4.3 per cent of the GDP.

She informed the Centre’s core capital expenditure for 2025-26 is proposed to be Rs 11.21 lakh crore, which is 3.1 per cent of the GDP, and is higher than the budget estimates for the current fiscal.

Sitharaman said former finance minister P Chidambaram should also counsel some of his own party-ruled states, whether it is Karnataka or Telangana that they should spend on capital expenditure.

Congress-ruled states are no longer spending on capital expenditure, she said. PTI PRS NKD MJH RAM MR

Source: PTI