Opposition Boycotts NITI Aayog Meeting Over Discriminatory Budget Claims

Opposition parties boycott NITI Aayog meeting, accusing the Union Budget of discriminatory treatment towards non-NDA ruled states. Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann joins the boycott.

Key Points

• Opposition parties accuse the Union Budget of being discriminatory towards non-NDA ruled states.
• Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann joins the boycott of the NITI Aayog meeting scheduled for July 27.
• Several chief ministers from the INDIA bloc have decided to skip the meeting in protest.
• West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee will attend the meeting to address the state’s grievances.
• The boycott reflects growing tensions between the central government and opposition-ruled states.

The opposition’s discontent with the Union Budget presented on July 23 has led to a significant political boycott. Claiming the budget was discriminatory against states governed by non-NDA parties, several opposition leaders have announced their decision to skip the upcoming NITI Aayog meeting. Among them, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, representing the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), has confirmed his absence from the meeting scheduled for July 27.

The AAP-led Punjab government expressed solidarity with the INDIA bloc, with CM Mann stating he would not attend the NITI Aayog meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The decision aligns with the broader opposition stance, which criticizes the budget for inadequate fund allocation to states not ruled by the NDA.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin was the first to announce his boycott, followed by a statement from the Congress declaring that its chief ministers, including Himachal Pradesh’s Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, Karnataka’s Siddaramaiah, and Telangana’s Revanth Reddy, would also not attend. Alongside Mann, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren and Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan are expected to miss the meeting as well.

However, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and TMC’s Derek O’Brien plan to attend the meeting. They aim to leverage the platform to hold the Union government accountable for what they perceive as Bengal’s legitimate dues.

In an address to the Telangana Legislative Assembly, CM Revanth Reddy articulated his government’s decision to boycott the NITI Aayog meeting, condemning the central government’s alleged unfairness in fund allocation. Reddy’s address also included a call for former CM K Chandrashekar Rao to join a Deeksha protest in Delhi for Telangana’s rights, responding to challenges from BRS leaders KT Rama Rao and Harish Rao.

As the political drama unfolds, the discussion on the Union Budget 2024-25 will continue in both Houses of Parliament on Thursday, reflecting the deepening divide between the central government and opposition-ruled states.