New Delhi: No state has been denied anything in the 2024 Union Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told NDTV Friday evening, responding to opposition criticism that her speech this week mentioned only two states - Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, both ruled by key BJP allies.
Ms Sitharaman, who presented a record-setting seventh consecutive budget on Tuesday, said the centre had been required by law to support Andhra Pradesh after its bifurcation in 2014.
"States are receiving allocations as they have in the past... no state has been denied anything. The Act (Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act) requires the centre to support (the state) in building its capital city and developing backward regions," she explained.
"Several steps have been taken in the last 10 years (and) many other steps, as per the Act, which had to be done have been done. Yes, we will support (the building of the new capital, Amaravati, and the Polavaram irrigation project) ... Polavaram should have been completed but there are some technical issues. The state government is seized of the matter," Ms Sitharaman told said.
The Congress-led INDIA bloc had criticised the Modi 3.0 government for failing to provide schemes or even mention states not ruled by the BJP or its allies. The chief ministers of three Congress-ruled states - Siddaramaiah (Karnataka), Revanth Reddy (Telangana), and Sukhvinder Sukhu (Himachal Pradesh) - said they would boycott a Niti Aayog meeting Saturday in protest.
The meeting is being chaired by Mr Modi.
Apart from the Congress, Tamil Nadu's ruling DMK, also an INDIA bloc member, said no provision has been made for infrastructure projects like the second phase of the Chennai Metro Rail and similar developments in Coimbatore.
On Wednesday Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, also expected to boycott the meeting, offered a warning to Mr Modi. "The election is over... now we have to think about the country. Budget 2024 will save your rule... but will not save the nation. Run the government objectively... otherwise you will be isolated," he said on X.
The Finance Minister hit back on Wednesday, telling the opposition no budget could name every state in the union and that not mentioning them did not mean no funds would be given.
Responding particularly to criticism by Congress boss Mallikarjun Kharge, she said, "To the point he raised - that I have not named many states and spoke only about two. The Congress was in power for a long time. They presented many budgets and should know that in every budget, you don't get an opportunity to name every state of this country."
Ms Sitharaman also said the budget reflected Prime Minister Narendra Modi's wish to keep things simple, so everyone, and not just subject experts, could understand India's finances.
"We present everything upfront. There is no fine print... we ensure that any changes made are communicated openly, based on feedback and transparent processes," she said.