New Delhi: Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav said on Thursday that the budget and politics are interrelated and had it not been for politics, then Andhra Pradesh and Bihar would not have been given special packages.
Speaking to ANI on the Union Budget, which was presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sithraman on Tuesday, Yadav said, "Politics and budget are interrelated. Had it not been for politics, Andhra Pradesh and Bihar wouldn't have been given special packages."
She stated that Uttar Pradesh had consecutively given so many seats to the BJP and that the state should have been given a special package.
"UP has consecutively given so many seats to the BJP. Never in history has any single party won so many seats from UP. UP should have been given a special package from the centre's funds," Yadav said.
In her Budget speech in Parliament on Tuesday, Nirmala Sitharaman said, "On the Amritsar-Kolkata industrial corridor, we will support the development of an industrial nod at Gaya in Bihar.
We will also support the construction of road connectivity projects, namely the Patna-Purnia Expressway, Buxar-Bagalpur Expressway, Bodhgaya-Rajgir-Vaishali-Darbanga and an additional two-lane bridge over river Ganga at Buxar at a total cost of Rs 26,000 crore."
"Power projects, including setting up of a new 2400 megawatt power plant at Pirpainti, will be taken up at a cost of Rs 21400 crore," she added.
The Finance Minister said that new airports, medical colleges and sports infrastructure in Bihar will be constructed. An additional allocation to support capital investments will be provided, she said.
The FM also announced an allocation of Rs 11,500 crore for flood control measures in Bihar.
Andhra Pradesh also benefited from the Union Budget 2024-25 as the Finance Minister announced special financial support for the state, recognising the state's need for capital.
"Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act: Our government has made efforts to fulfil the commitments in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act. Recognising the state's need for capital, we will facilitate special financial support through multilateral agencies," Sitharaman said.
"In the current FY, Rs 15,000 crore will be arranged with additional amounts in future years," she added.
Earlier on Wednesday, the opposition INDIA bloc MPs held a protest in the Parliament complex against the Union Budget.
"Opposition virodhi kursi bachao Budget murda baad" slogans were raised by the INDIA bloc leaders as they protested holding placards in the Parliament building, claiming that the Budget is "discriminatory" in nature.
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Congress MP Sonia Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, party General Secretary KC Venugopal, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, and TMC MP Dola Sen were seen participating in the protest.
