"No Special Scheme For Tamil Nadu": MK Stalin To Boycott NITI Aayog Meet

Chief Minister MK Stalin on Tuesday said Tamil Nadu has been completely ignored in the Union Budget and to condemn it, he said he will boycott the July 27 NITI Aayog meet in Delhi, which will be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Terming the budget a big disappointment, the Chief Minister said he felt that it is appropriate to boycott the NITI Aayog meet, since the Centre has totally ignored Tamil Nadu.

DMK MPs will stage a protest in Delhi on July 24 over the Union Budget.

"In order to establish Tamil Nadu's rights, we will continue to fight in the people's court." Speaking to reporters, MK Stalin said that in order to satisfy a few regional parties that made a 'minority BJP' into 'majority BJP', schemes have announced in the Budget for a few states, apparently referring to Bihar and Andhra Pradesh.

Though such schemes have been announced by the Centre, it is doubtful whether these will be implemented. Though the Union government had announced 'Metro Rail scheme' for Tamil Nadu, no fund allocation has been made for it (Chennai Metro Rail Phase-2) and the state is being deceived till date, MK Stalin said.

Similarly, there is no guarantee that Bihar and Andhra Pradesh will not share Tamil Nadu's fate in future.

"Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has forgotten all the states barring those that sustain this government. There is no special scheme for the state. None of our demands have been fulfilled." Asked whether he thought that the big win of the DMK and its allies in the recent Lok Sabha polls was the reason for the Centre ignoring the state, he said, "they are angered to such an extent against the Tamil Nadu people." Both Tamil Nadu and the Tirukkural, which PM Modi had said he loved, found not even a mention in the Budget.

Rather than saying that the word Tamil Nadu does not figure in the Budget, it will be better to say that Tamil Nadu does not form a part of the BJP regime's thought process and in the work plan. The budget shows a partisan attitude and there is only disappointment.

Tamil Nadu witnessed two natural disasters (cyclones, deluge) in the recent past and the state had sought Rs 37,000 crore assistance from the Centre. However, so far only Rs 276 crore has been released.

"This is a big injustice for Tamil Nadu people," he said. In the case of Bihar alone, Rs 11,500 crore is set to be given by the Centre for disaster relief.

He recalled his wish list for Tamil Nadu, which includes funds for ongoing Chennai Metro Rail Phase-2 work, Metro Rail schemes for Madurai and Coimbatore and said none of the representations of the state has been considered for announcement in the Budget.

Commenting on the Budget features, he said it appears to be a replica of the Tamil Nadu budget. For example, it is notable that the Union Budget says that 20 lakh youngsters will be provided skill enhancement coaching across the country during the next five years.

"However, in Tamil Nadu alone, in a year, we are providing skill development coaching to over 15 lakh young people." "The Finance Minister has copied several Tamil Nadu schemes that are being successfully implemented. However, why she has not announced even one big scheme for Tamil Nadu as a mark of thanksgiving for borrowing Tamil Nadu's schemes." 

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