'Kursi Bachao Budget': Sanjay Raut attacks BJP over huge sops to Bihar, Andhra Pradesh

Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP, on Wednesday attacked the NDA government for giving out huge sops to Andhra Pradesh and Bihar in the Union Budget 2024-25. He said that this budget is aimed at saving the government and is heavily influenced by the results of the Lok Sabha election results 2024. 

Chandrababu Naidu's Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal United (JDU) are key allies at the Centre. "Everyone knows this was a 'Kursi Bachao' budget. It is influenced by the results of the Lok Sabha elections. There was a time when the traders of Gujarat used to give extortion money to the East India Company," Raut said while speaking to reporters. 

Further slamming the government, Raut said that he believes the same traders have given 'extortion money' to Naidu and Nitish. "I think that the same traders have given extortion money to Bihar's Nitish Kumar and Andhra Pradesh's Chandrababu Naidu to protect their chair," the Rajya Sabha MP said. 

Aaditya Thackeray vs Devendra Fadnavis on Budget 2024

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray attacked the Centre over the Budget, asking why the BJP hates and insults Maharashtra so much, citing the Budget. "I can understand the BJP wanting to save its government and giving Bihar and Andhra Pradesh a huge sum of the budget," Thackeray said.

Thackeray questioned if the state was even mentioned and alleged that a bias has been seen against Maharashtra through the entire past decade.

He added, "But what is Maharashtra's fault? That we are the largest taxpayers? What did we get against what we contribute? Was Maharashtra even mentioned once in the budget? Why does the BJP hate and insult Maharashtra so much?"

Replying to this, Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis said that the opposition parties prepared their reactions to the Budget in advance to build a negative narrative against the Centre.

He added that substantial allocations have been made for the state. "It is advisable for the opposition to thoroughly examine the Budget before reacting," Fadnavis said. 

Nirmala Sitharaman's Budget announcements for Andhra Pradesh, Bihar

In her Budget speech yesterday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman gave out huge sops to Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. She announced that in the current FY, Rs 15,000 crore will be arranged for meeting Andhra Pradesh's capital requirements.

Further, she said that additional funds will be allocated in the years to come. She also announced additional allocation of funds for capital investment on two industrial corridors in the state -- Vishakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor and the Hyderabad-Chennai Industrial Corridor. 

For Bihar, Sitharaman announced an industrial nod in Gaya on the Amritsar-Kolkata Industrial Corridor. She also announced road connectivity projects worth Rs 26,000 crore including Patna-Purnea expressway, Buxar- Bhagalpur highway, Bodhgaya- Rajgir-Vaishali- Darbhanga, and an additional two-lane bridge over river Ganga in Buxar. She further allocated Rs 11,500 crore for flood relief measures in the state.