Finance Minister Sitharaman Counters Opposition’s Budget Criticism Amid Walkout

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday addressed the continuous attacks from Opposition parties, who have labeled the Union Budget as ‘discriminatory’. As the proceedings began in the Rajya Sabha, the INDIA bloc parties staged a walkout as Sitharaman began her speech.

Undeterred by the walkout, Sitharaman asserted that funds are allocated to every state regardless of their mention in the Budget speech. “If the speech doesn’t mention a state, that doesn’t mean that the externally aided funds don’t go to the states as per the routine,” she emphasized, aiming to clarify the allocation process.

The Finance Minister accused the Opposition, led by Congress, of deliberately misleading the public. She called their claims that nothing has been given to certain states “outrageous allegations,” and stressed that every state receives its due funds, contrary to the impression being spread by the Opposition.

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