Mayawati Criticizes Central Government for Budget Bias Against Uttar Pradesh
Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], July 26: BSP Chief Mayawati has accused the central government of not allocating enough funds to Uttar Pradesh in this year’s budget. She supported the opposition parties’ anger and protest over the alleged bias and imbalance between different states in the 2024 budget, stating that the central government prioritized political gains over national interests.
In a post on the social media platform X, Mayawati said, “In the budget presented by the NDA government in the Parliament, anger and protest against discrimination, bias and imbalance between different states for political gains rather than national and public interest is natural, although such step-motherly treatment by the Centre is nothing new today. BSP has also faced this in UP.”
Mayawati backed the decision of non-BJP-ruled states not to participate in the Niti Aayog meeting. She questioned the fairness of the government for not paying proper attention to a poor and backward state like UP with a huge population, adding that it is very important for the Centre to give priority to the country and public interest.
She said, “The non-BJP ruled states that are unhappy and afflicted with the Union Budget have decided not to participate in the Niti Aayog meeting regarding this, whereas how fair is it not to pay proper attention in the budget to a poor and backward state like UP with a huge population? The Centre needs to give priority to the country and the public interest.”
Earlier, Chief Ministers of some of the non-NDA states decided to boycott the NITI Ayog meeting, which is to be held on July 27, alleging the impartial allocation of the funds to non-NDA states in this year’s budget. In his statement, MK Stalin 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 Chennai Metro for the past three years. Shockingly, the words ‘Tamil’ or ‘Tamil Nadu’ do not appear even once in the entire budget speech. In light of this blatant neglect of Tamil Nadu, I have decided to boycott the NITI Aayog meeting scheduled for July 27.”
Doubts Revealed
Mayawati -: Mayawati is a prominent Indian politician and the leader of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). She has served as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, one of India’s largest states.
Central Government -: The Central Government refers to the national government of India, which is responsible for making decisions and policies that affect the entire country.
Budget -: A budget is a plan that shows how much money will be spent and earned over a certain period. In this context, it refers to the financial plan of the Indian government for the year 2024.
Uttar Pradesh -: Uttar Pradesh is a state in northern India. It is the most populous state in the country and has significant political importance.
BSP -: BSP stands for Bahujan Samaj Party, a political party in India that primarily represents the Dalits, a marginalized community in the country.
Opposition protests -: Opposition protests are actions taken by political parties that are not in power to show their disagreement with the government’s decisions or policies.
Bias -: Bias means showing favoritism or unfair preference towards one side. In this case, it means the central government is being unfair in how it distributes money to different states.
Non-BJP-ruled states -: Non-BJP-ruled states are those states in India where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is not in power. Different political parties govern these states.
NITI Aayog -: NITI Aayog is a policy think tank of the Indian government, which aims to foster cooperative federalism by involving state governments in the economic policy-making process.
MK Stalin -: MK Stalin is an Indian politician and the current Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, a state in southern India. He is a member of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party.