Chennai, July 24 (UNI) Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the neglect of several
states in the Union Budget, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK President M K Stalin said if Mr Modi
runs his government according to political likes and dislikes he will be isolated.
In a social media post, Mr Stalin referred to the protests by the INDIA coalition MPs over the boycott
of several states in the Budget and advised Mr Modi to run the government in general and not to be
hellbent on avenging those who had defeated him (in the recent Lok Sabha polls).
The BJP had failed to get a majority of its own, but formed the government (for the third time) with the support of its key allies the the JD(U) in Bihar and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in Andhra Pradesh.
In the budget, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman loosened the purse strings for these
two states and announced an allocation of Rs 26,000 crore and Rs 15,000 to Bihar and Andhra
Pradesh respectively.
Mr Stalin said the Budget will save Mr Modi's rule, but not the country.
"INDIA coalition MPs have staged a protest protesting the omission of several states in the Union
budget", he said.
"Hon'ble Prime Minister @narendramodi You said, "The election is over, now we have to think about
the country." But yesterday #Budget2024 will save your rule, but not the Indian nation!", he added
'Run the government in general. Don't be hellbent on avenging those who have yet defeated you",
Mr Stalin, who had announced boycott of the Niti Aayog meeting convened by Mr Modi at Delhi
on July 27 condemning the Budget as there was no mention of any schemes to TN and has
blatantly neglected the State, said.
It may be pertinent to note that the DMK-led Front in Tamil Nadu swept the Lok Sabha polls winning all the 40 seats, while the BJP-led alliance drew a blank.
"I am obliged to advise you that if you run the government according to political likes and dislikes,
you will be isolated. #BJPBetraysTamilnadu", the Chief Minister said.
Yesterday, Mr Stalin, after issuing a statement terming the Union Budget as "huge betrayal" of
Tamil Nadu and that it appeared as though it had "intentionally boycotted" the State, later met
the media and announced that he was boycotting the Niti Aayog meet condemning the total aand
blatant neglect of TN in the budget.
Apparently referring the huge allocations for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, Mr Stain the Budget
did not cover the entire India, but looked like 'an agreement' with its allies ruling Bihar and
Andhra Pradesh for political reasons, he said, assailing the Centre.
While allocating funds generously for several states for political gains and ignoring Tamil Nadu
for the sole reason as it continued to ignore communal politics was akin to crushing the federal
principles.
"Spitting venom on States like Tamil Nadu, which was significantly contributing for the country's
development tantamounts to destroying the democratic and federal principles', he said.
The BJP government's ploy to settle political scores through the Budget was saddening as it
would affect the people of Tamil Nadu, he had said.
Later in a post on X, Mr Stalin said “Go to the battlefields of election in January 2029. Till then,
the only priority should be the country, its poor, farmers, women, and the youth,” our Hon'ble
PM @narendramodi said in his address to the media ahead of the Parliament session."
"But the very next day, his government's #Budget2024 has neglected the people of Tamil Nadu.
This is unacceptable and condemnable", he said.
"While the budget includes announcements for states ruled by BJP allies, there is no guarantee
these states will receive the promised funds, just as Tamil Nadu has been denied funds for the #ChennaiMetro for the past three years", he added.
"Shockingly, the words 'Tamil' or 'Tamil Nadu' do not appear even once in the entire budget
speech by Hon'ble @nsitharaman, who previously began her budget speeches with 'Thirukkural",
he said.
'In light of this blatant neglect of Tamil Nadu, I have decided to boycott the @NITIAayog
meeting scheduled for 27th July, chaired by the Hon'ble PM. #BJPBetraysTamilnadu", the
Chief Minister said.
UNI GV 1730