Sparks fly as Opposition MPs allege Budget bias, FM says outrageous charge

Later, in the afternoon, the Opposition also participated in the debate over the Budget with Congress MP Kumari Selja initiating the debate in Lok Sabha and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram in Rajya Sabha.

When proceedings began for the day in Rajya Sabha, Leader of Opposition and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the INDIA parties “condemned” the Budget which, he said, had ignored states other than Bihar and Andhra Pradesh – the two states are ruled by BJP allies JD(U) and TDP. The Opposition staged a walkout but returned to the House within minutes as Sitharaman, who had presented the Budget a day earlier, began responding to Kharge’s allegation.

“If the speech does not mention a particular state, does it mean the schemes of the Government of India, the programmes of Government of India, the externally-aided assistance that we obtain from the World Bank, ADB, AIIB and so on, don’t go to these states? They go as per a routine,” she said.

She said though she had not mentioned Maharashtra, the Cabinet had approved Rs 76,000 crore for a port project in Vadhavan. She asked the Congress if all states had been mentioned in the speeches during their time in government.

“This is a deliberate attempt of the Opposition parties led by the Congress to give an impression to the people ‘nothing has been given to our states, it has only been given to two states’…This is an outrageous allegation,” she said.

Responding to TMC MPs who said West Bengal had been left out of the Budget, Sitharaman said Central schemes of the Narendra Modi government had not been implemented in the state in the last 10 years.

Accusing the government of adopting a discriminatory attitude, Kharge had said, “Nobody got anything from the Budget that was presented yesterday. Everyone’s plate is empty except two who have got pakodas and jalebi. I have never seen such a Budget. It was presented merely to cling to power.”

He alleged that wherever the people rejected the BJP, those states got nothing from the Budget.

When Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar allowed Sitharaman to respond, Kharge said, “Mata ji bolne mein expert hain, mujhe maloom hai (She is an expert speaker, I know that).

At this, Dhankhar said, “Woh mata nahi, aapke beti ke barabar hai (She is old enough to be your daughter, not mother).”

Earlier, outside the House, leaders of the Congress, including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, along with those of the TMC, DMK, SP, RJD, AAP, Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Left, stood with different placards including those that read ‘INDIA rejects NDA Budget’, ‘NDA betrays INDIA in Budget’ and ‘Treat All States Equally’.

The MPs raised slogans against the Modi government, maintaining that the Budget catered only to states ruled by the BJP and its allies.

Sharing a picture of the protest on his WhatsApp channel, Rahul Gandhi said, “Today, along with INDIA janbandhan MPs, protested against NDA’s ‘Kursi Bachao Budget’ in Parliament House premises. This budget is an assault on the sanctity of India’s federal structure – in the greed for power, other states of the country have been neglected and discriminated against. INDIA bloc will continue to raise its voice to provide equal justice to every state of India.”

Kharge told reporters: “This Budget is anti-people, no one has got justice. They have talked about a special package, but special status has not been given. This is a deceptive Budget and injustice to the people.”

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav argued that the government had given a “support price” to its allies rather than the farmers. He said Uttar Pradesh had been given nothing because “people of Lucknow have angered the people of Delhi” – he was referring to the setback the BJP suffered in UP in the Lok Sabha elections when its tally came down to 33 from 62.

In Lok Sabha, when the proceedings began, Opposition MPs started raising slogans. Speaker Om Birla took exception to INDIA bloc MPs blocking the Makar Dwar used by MPs to enter the House.

“While protesting in Parliament, you must remember that no member faces inconvenience in reaching the House. This is not right. Many members have written to me,” the Speaker said.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said several members had also complained to him about this. “What Opposition MPs have done during Question Hour is condemnable. In the all-party meeting, leaders of all political parties said the House must run smoothly, and by rules. But after coming to the House, disrupting the Question Hour is not right,” he said.

After the walkout by Opposition members in Rajya Sabha, Dhankhar criticised their conduct, saying if disruption was weaponised as a political strategy, then democracy would be seriously threatened.