"Assuring Andhra We Are With Them": Nirmala Sitharaman On Special Package

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman pointed out that her 82-minute Budget speech only covered the salient points, but a lack of mention of any scheme or state does not indicate exclusion. She also played down the mega package for Andhra Pradesh -- ruled by ally Chandrababu Naidu -- saying she merely highlighted the ongoing work to "reassure the newly elected government". Her clarification came amid loud complaints from Opposition-ruled states, four of which have decided to boycott the Niti Aayog meeting, due later this week.

In an exclusive interview with state broadcaster Doordarshan, Ms Sitharaman pointed to the row over a lack of mention of UPA's flagship MNREGA rural employment scheme as a parallel. "MNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act), PM Swanidhi, Mudra, will all go on. They do not stop because I had not mentioned them in the budget speech," she said.

Asked about the special packages for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, the minister said: "The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act requires all this to be done anyway. So for 10 years, we have been giving money for backward district programme... taking some of the institutes like AIIMS, IIT, IIIT.. So there are certain projects that are getting staggered."

In this context she mentioned Andhra Pradesh's ongoing Polavaram project, one of the biggest national projects which has a dam with immense storage capacity, where Godavari water is stored.

"This is a national project. I will certainly support it and this is what I have emphasised (in the budget speech). Similar is the backward region development project... we are only reassuring the newly elected government in Andhra Pradesh that we are with them," she said.

Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, both aiming for special category state status, missed the target, but received ample packages in the budget.

While Bihar will get mega infrastructure projects including the Amritsar-Kolkata industrial corridor and multiple road connectivity projects, Andhra Pradesh, among other things, is getting Rs 15,000 crore to develop its capital.

Mr Naidu's Telugu Desam Party has said the allocation was not about politics but something "very much" required for rebuilding the state.

The Opposition has given the budget a "kursi bachao" tag, pointing out that the BJP-led government would collapse without its allies in Bihar and Andhra Pradesh. Most Opposition-ruled states also complained that they have not received anything in the budget.

Earlier today, four Chief Ministers including Tamil Nadu's MK Stalin, Telangana's Revanth Reddy, Karnataka's Siddaramaiah, and Himachal Pradesh's Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, said they would skip Saturday's Niti Aayog meeting.

Siddaramaiah said, ""Despite my earnest efforts in calling for an all-party MPs meeting in New Delhi to discuss Karnataka's essential needs, the Union Budget has neglected our state's demands".

"The Union Budget presented today was extremely discriminatory and dangerous, which completely goes against the principles of federalism and fairness that the Union Government must follow. In protest, INC CMs will be boycotting the NITI Aayog meeting… We will not participate in an event that is solely designed to hide the true, discriminatory colours of this regime," Congress's KC Venugopal posted on social media. Besides Karnataka, the party rules Telangana and Himachal Pradesh.

"The state government has been continuously demanding a fair share of Central funds, but this budget has once again ignored our legitimate demands," said Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK chief MK Stalin.