CPI MP P Sandosh Kumar Criticizes Union Budget 2024 for Ignoring Kerala
New Delhi, India, July 25: CPI MP P Sandosh Kumar expressed his disappointment with the Union Budget 2024, calling it anti-federal and claiming that Kerala did not receive any benefits. He alleged that the budget was prepared arbitrarily to save the government and should be reformed based on a federal structure.
Kumar stated, “This Budget is just to save their government, and nothing more than that. A few states received more, but we have no issues with that. Bihar and Andhra Pradesh should indeed get funds, but there is federalism in the country. This is an anti-federal Budget. The system of preparing the Budget arbitrarily should be scrapped and a new system should be brought in. Every state should be considered. Kerala didn’t get anything. This is the worst budget of independent India.”
He further mentioned that the Kerala government had proposed a project but did not receive even 10 percent of the required funds to start working on it.
Earlier, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan accused the Centre of neglecting Kerala, stating that the budget presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman displayed a discriminatory attitude towards the states. Vijayan added that while the finance minister outlined eight goals of national importance, she failed to address the concerns of most states, including Kerala.
Vijayan said, “Such an attitude by the centre is detrimental to the progress of states like Kerala. Refusal to consider the longstanding demands raised by Kerala echoes total disrespect to the people of the state.”
Nirmala Sitharaman presented her record seventh consecutive Union Budget 2024-25 during the Budget Session of Parliament. She made history as the first finance minister to present seven consecutive budget speeches, surpassing former Prime Minister Morarji Desai’s record of six consecutive budgets as finance minister between 1959 and 1964.
In her seventh consecutive Union Budget for 2024-25, Sitharaman outlined key priorities aimed at fostering economic growth and creating ample opportunities. The priorities include productivity and resilience in agriculture, employment, and skilling and services.
Doubts Revealed
CPI -: CPI stands for Communist Party of India. It is a political party in India that believes in the principles of communism.
MP -: MP stands for Member of Parliament. It is a person who has been elected to represent the people in the Parliament of India.
P Sandosh Kumar -: P Sandosh Kumar is a politician from Kerala and a Member of Parliament representing the Communist Party of India.
Union Budget -: The Union Budget is a financial plan presented by the government of India every year. It shows how the government plans to spend money and collect taxes.
Kerala -: Kerala is a state in the southern part of India. It is known for its beautiful backwaters and high literacy rate.
Anti-federal -: Anti-federal means against the principles of federalism, where power is shared between the central government and the states.
Chief Minister -: The Chief Minister is the head of the government in an Indian state. Pinarayi Vijayan is the Chief Minister of Kerala.
Centre -: In this context, ‘Centre’ refers to the central government of India, which is responsible for the entire country.
Discriminatory attitude -: Discriminatory attitude means treating someone unfairly or differently. Here, it means the central government is being unfair to Kerala.
Union Finance Minister -: The Union Finance Minister is the person in charge of the financial matters of the country. Nirmala Sitharaman is the current Finance Minister of India.
Economic growth -: Economic growth means an increase in the production of goods and services in a country, which helps improve the standard of living.
Agriculture -: Agriculture is the practice of farming, including growing crops and raising animals for food and other products.
Employment -: Employment means having a job or work that pays money. It is important for people to earn a living.
Skilling -: Skilling means teaching people new skills or improving their existing skills so they can get better jobs or start their own businesses.