In Rajya Sabha, Opp corners govt on allocation to Andhra Pradesh, Bihar

“I am particularly happy that she (Sitharaman) had an opportunity to read the Congress manifesto. I would urge friends on treasury benches to read the Congress manifesto so that in your party meetings, you can persuade the prime minister and the finance minister to take some more ideas from our manifesto,” he said. “Copying is not prohibited in this house, in fact, copying is encouraged, rewarded in this house. Please copy a little more.”
Chidambaram expressed scepticism about the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme’s impact on job creation, suggesting that the shift to employment-linked incentive might be an admission of PLI’s shortcomings.

Chidambaram also took issue with Sitharaman’s brief mention of inflation. “The Finance Minister dismissed the subject of inflation in 10 words. Is inflation such a trivial subject you can deal with it casually and dismiss it in 10 words? WPI inflation is 3.4%, CPI inflation is 5.1%, food inflation is 9.1%. Go into the hinterlands of India, the inflation is much higher,” he said.

The Congress MP also put forward five demands to the government on behalf of the Opposition INDIA alliance: A daily minimum wage of `400; legal guarantee for minimum support price, a core demand for protesting farmers; a write-off of the unpaid balance of education loans till March; removal of the contentious Agnipath military recruitment scheme; and scrapping of the NEET medical entrance for states that do not want it.

Chidambaram also said that before April 2024, the BJP did not act upon demands made by Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha “Just because the political leadership changed in these states, BJP instantly changed its attitude towards their demands,” he said.

INDIA bloc ally TMC alleged that India is more unequal now than in the 1920s, during colonial rule. MP Sagarika Ghosh cited a World Inequality Lab report and said, “The budget needs to be about real people.” She said Andhra Pradesh and Bihar are receiving the largesse only because they have allied with the NDA.

BJD MP Sujeet Kumar also said Andhra Pradesh and Bihar received a “budget bonanza”. The Finance Minister announced a backward region grant for three districts of Odisha, he said, adding that other regions of Odisha are equally backward. “We don’t begrudge this budget bonanza for Bihar and AP. But why the step-motherly treatment for other states?” he said.

The BJP and its allies sought to blunt the Opposition attack. Asom Gana Parishad MP Birendra Prasad Baishya said the success of any economic policy depends on agriculture, services and benefits, adding that the government has given equal importance to manufacturing, the agricultural sector and service.
BJP MP from UP Radha Mohan Das Agrawal read out indices to explain that India is moving ahead at a great speed.

“The Opposition is acting like they are not seeing it, and PM Modi is lifting the people of India from poverty, particularly multidimensional poverty,” he said.

Shiv Sena MP Milind Deora said every expenditure, incentive and subsidy of the government should be directed towards three objectives — to create onshore jobs lost to China; to rework supply chains and reduce dependence on countries that can become hostile; and greening the economy while achieving the two previous objectives.