HYDERABAD: The Telangana Legislative Assembly passed a resolution on Wednesday expressing strong discontent and protest over the perceived neglect of the state in the 2024-25 Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday.
Presenting the resolution in the Assembly, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy characterized the Union Budget as not just discriminatory but also punitive, necessitating condemnation. He announced his decision to boycott the upcoming Niti Aayog meeting on July 27, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in protest against what he described as the Centre's failure to respect Telangana's rights, issue necessary permissions, and allocate adequate funds to the state.
The Chief Minister also criticized BJP MLAs for allegedly shielding the BJP-led NDA government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Revanth highlighted the stark contrast in treatment between southern and northern states by the Centre, citing figures that the Union government collected Rs 22.26 lakh crore in GST revenue from southern states (Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu) but allocated only Rs 6.42 lakh crore back. In contrast, Uttar Pradesh received Rs 6.91 lakh crore despite contributing Rs 3.41 lakh crore.
Over the past five years, Telangana contributed Rs 3.68 lakh crore to the Centre but received only Rs 1.68 lakh crore in return, Revanth noted, emphasizing the disparity in resource allocation.
He expressed frustration over repeated appeals to the Centre, including 18 visits to Delhi by himself and his Cabinet colleagues, for funding various projects like Musi Riverfront Development, Regional Ring Road, and Metro Rail expansion, as well as seeking permissions for initiatives such as Pharma City, aimed at achieving Telangana's economic goals. However, Revanth lamented that these requests had been ignored.
In response to BJP MLAs' arguments defending the Centre's actions, Revanth questioned whether funds were provided to Telangana through the sale of personal or state lands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Gujarat, dismissing their assertions.
The resolution declared the Assembly's strong protest against the Centre's neglect of Telangana, citing violations of the AP Reorganisation Act and the state government's appeals for financial assistance and fund releases.
Following the adoption of the resolution, the House adjourned until Thursday.