24 July,2024 05:41 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Activists of NCP Sharad Pawar group protest against the budget. Pic/Shadab Khan
Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party staged a protest in Mumbai on Wednesday, alleging discrimination against Maharashtra in the Union Budget 2024, despite the western state being the highest tax-payer.
As per the PTI report, NCP (SP) workers led by city unit president Rakhi Jadhav held placards and shouted slogans against the Union government.
"Despite being the highest generator of tax revenue for the exchequer Maharashtra was ignored in the Budget and got nothing in allocations," Jadhav told reporters, according to PTI.
The leader of the NCP (SP) questioned if Maharashtra was treated unfairly because of the BJP's poor performance in the state during the recent Lok Sabha elections, reported PTI.
Meanwhile, Raju Shetti, the chief of Swabhimani Party, criticized the government for neglecting to build infrastructure for agriculture and focusing instead on digital platforms. He argued that importing oilseeds and pulses is anti-farmer, and only six per cent of crops receive Minimum Support Price (MSP) protection.
Opposition parties have accused the Centre of showing anti-Maharashtra bias in the Union Budget 2024 and favouring NDA allies, TDP and JD (U).
Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday dismissed the opposition's claims and stated that the state had received 'substantial allocations' in the annual financial statement.
Maharashtra not mentioned even once in FM's speech, says Aaditya Thackeray
The opposition in Maharashtra slammed the Union Budget 2024 claiming it did not even mention the word 'Maharashtra' during FM Nirmala Sitharaman's Budget speech.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Tuesday said Maharashtra was not mentioned even once by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Union Budget 2024 speech, and alleged bias against the state despite being the largest taxpayer.
In a post on X, Thackeray also accused the Centre of looting Maharashtra by installing a "corrupt regime" and then through taxes.
"I can understand the BJP wanting to save its government and giving Bihar and Andhra Pradesh a huge sum of the budget. But what is Maharashtra's fault? That we are the largest taxpayer? What did we get against what we contributed?"
"Was Maharashtra mentioned even once in the budget? Why does the BJP hate and insult Maharashtra so much? This isn't the first time, through the entire past decade of BJP's government, we have seen this bias against Maharashtra," Thackeray claimed.
