Upset with the “boycott” of Tamil Nadu in the Union Budget, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Tuesday said he would not attend the NITI Aayog Governing Council meeting that is scheduled to be convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 27.
Mr. Stalin, who had initially planned to attend the meeting in New Delhi, told journalists: “...I have decided not to take part in the meeting. I will boycott it [the meeting]. It will only be appropriate to boycott a Union government’s meeting as Tamil Nadu was boycotted [in the Union Budget].”
Also read | Union Budget has betrayed T.N., disappointed the middle-class: Stalin
Mr. Stalin further said that he would continue to fight for the demands and rights of Tamil Nadu in the people’s forum. The DMK has given permission for its MPs to stage a protest in New Delhi on Wednesday.
To a query whether the DMK-led alliance’s victory in all the 40 seats in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in the recent Lok Sabha election was the reason (for the alleged boycott of Tamil Nadu in the Budget), Mr. Stalin said that there was no mention of Tamil or Tamil Nadu in the Union Budget. “They are angry at the people of Tamil Nadu....”
Asked how the Tamil Nadu government would manage in the absence of allocations to the State, Mr. Stalin said: “We will handle it the way we have been handling so far.....”
The Budget, presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, was a “huge disappointment”, he said, adding that the Budget showed that the BJP-led Union government was “unwilling” to do good to the people, who have elected it for the third consecutive term.
There were a few announcements made for the benefit of a few States, and to “satisfy a few regional parties” helped the BJP get a majority in Parliament, Mr. Stalin said, adding: “Moreover, only the announcements have been made,” he said, adding that there was no guarantee that they would actually be implemented.
Recalling the two major natural disasters that hit Tamil Nadu in 2023, and the eventual request for a relief of about ₹37,000 crore, Mr. Stalin said that the Centre had only provided ₹276 crore. Though two Union Ministers had visited Tamil Nadu, the requested compensation was not provided, he added. “Is this how the BJP government respects the people of Tamil Nadu?,” Mr. Stalin asked.
“Tamil Nadu is absent in the minds of those in the BJP-led Union government,” he said, adding that “injustice was meted out to the State.”
Senior Ministers, among others, were present Mr. Stalin’s interaction with journalists at the DMK’s head office here.
Published - July 24, 2024 01:59 am IST
