"Assuring Andhra We Are With Them": Nirmala Sitharaman On Special Package
NDTV
Budget 2024: Nirmala Sitharaman 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".
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."
