FM Nirmala Sitharaman Counters Opposition: ’26 States Not Named in 2009 Budget’

On Tuesday, the Lok Sabha discussed the draft Budget 2024-25 and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman responded to the debate. The Union Finance Minister concluded by saying that all opposition parties should be ashamed for their misleading claims about the Budget. She also addressed insinuations made against her Ministry by claiming that it was ‘biased’ toward Bihar and Andhra Pradesh which were totally false. She clarified that the Budget had not neglected any state and that all states received due consideration.

Nirmala Sitharaman made it clear that the absence of a state’s name in the Budget speech doesn’t mean it hasn’t received any funding. She pointed out to that previous UPA-led governments’ Budgets were also devoid of naming states in their entirety during speeches. She observed that this has been a tradition and therefore, does not imply lack of funding for the said states. 

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while addressing the Lok Sabha, stated that Rs 17,000 crore have been allocated from this year’s Union Budget for Jammu and Kashmir. Out of the total amount, Rs 12,000 crore will be used by Jammu and Kashmir police force alone. Such large scale allocations are meant to ease financial burden in the region hence allowing it more latitude to invest on developmental programs leading to all round growth in future.

She also mentioned that she has gone through Budget speeches from 2004-2005 to 2007-2008, observing that the 2004-2005 Budget did not list 17 states by name. She challenged the members of the UPA government from that period, questioning whether those states had been denied funds. If they had not been excluded, then there is no basis for their criticism of the current Budget allocations.

  Sitharaman pointed out that there has been an increase in the Budget for the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare. It was only in 2013-2014 that the budget stood at Rs 21,934 crore; however, this has more than quintupled to reach Rs 1.23 lakh crore for fiscal year 2024-2025. In addition, she noted that since PM Kisan scheme’s inception, over Rs 3.2 lakh crore has been handed out to more than 11 million farmers whose livelihood depends on agriculture revealing a tremendous commitment towards supporting agricultural realm along with its stakeholders.

In response to the opposition’s demands for a caste census and increased reservations for SCs and STs in India, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman suggested that before asking the Centre government to implement such reforms at the national level, such political parties must necessarily introspect their stand on reservation policy within their respective organizations. She pointed out that Rajiv Gandhi Foundation has no representation whatsoever from SCs, STs, or OBCs among its nine members. Therefore, expressing concerns over this lack of involvement highlights the need for some self-reflection before demanding any changes from others at a more significant level.

In response to Sitharaman, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh is critical of the present condition of private investment in India whether it is domestic or foreign. He noted that although there has been a reduction in corporate taxes and an elaborate promotion by the Prime Minister and his supporter, nevertheless, private investment continues to be slow with no significant increase.

Ramesh suggested that the current plea of helplessness indicates that investment decisions are influenced more by the Opposition’s criticism than by the actions of the government. He highlighted several key factors contributing to the decline in private investment as a percentage of GDP over the past decade. The list highlighted several erratic policy decisions, including the failed demonetization, poor GST implementation, and the unexpected COVID-19 lockdown. The former minister also pointed out that increased market concentration and reduced competition have resulted from these policies. Additionally, he added that frequent aggressive actions against businesses have eroded investor confidence in India.