At least four chief ministers of states ruled by the Opposition parties will boycott the NITI Aayog meeting scheduled for Sunday in protest against the “discriminatory” Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

All three Congress chief ministers will not attend the meeting that is “solely designed to hide the true, discriminatory colours of this regime”, party General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal announced on Tuesday.

The three chief ministers are Karnataka’s Siddaramaiah, Telangana’s Revanth Reddy, and Himachal Pradesh’s Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has also joined them in the protest.

The NITI Aayog, or the National Institution for Transforming India, replaced the planning commission in 2014-’15. The institution, which includes all chief ministers and lieutenant governors of Union territories, functions as a think-tank for the Centre.

Venugopal said in a social media post that the Budget presented on Tuesday was “extremely discriminatory and dangerous, which completely goes against the principles of federalism and fairness that the Union government must follow”.

The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government’s “attitude is completely antithetical to Constitutional principles”, the Congress leader added.

In a social media post, Siddaramaiah alleged that the Budget had neglected his state’s demands and that he will boycott the NITI Aayog meeting to be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a mark of protest. “We don’t feel Kannadigas are heard, and hence there is no point in attending the NITI Aayog meeting,” he said.

Siddaramaiah said that Modi was “unable to see states other than Andhra Pradesh and Bihar because his eyes are on the position of prime minister”.

Sitharaman announced financial support and several infrastructure projects for Andhra Pradesh and Bihar as part of the Budget for the financial year 2024-’25.

The BJP formed the government at the Centre with the help of Bihar’s ruling Janata Dal (United) and Andhra Pradesh’s Telugu Desam Party, among other members of its National Democratic Alliance, after having fallen short of the majority mark in the polls.

After the Budget announcements, Stalin said that his state had suffered the “biggest betrayal”, The Indian Express reported.

“The financial statement of the Union government for this year does not seem to be the financial statement of the whole of India,” he said. “Rather, it is more like an alliance agreement with the rulers of Bihar and Andhra Pradesh for political reasons.”

Stalin alleged that the Budget was “aimed at destroying the principles of Indian democracy and federalism”.

The leader of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which is part of the Opposition INDIA bloc, said that the Union government’s fiscal policies and budgetary allocations had “consistently ignored the needs and demands of Tamil Nadu”. He also said that the allocation for Tamil Nadu’s welfare schemes had been cut significantly, with no mention of new initiatives to support the state’s economic development.

“The state government has been continuously demanding a fair share of central funds, but this Budget has once again ignored our legitimate demands,” The Indian Express quoted him as saying.

He said that MPs from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam will protest in Delhi on Wednesday against the Budget proposed by the Centre, according to the newspaper.

Bihar, Andhra Pradesh thank Centre

On the other hand, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday thanked the Union government for “recognising the needs” of his state and “focusing on a capital [city], Polavaram [irrigation project], industrial nodes and development of backward areas” in the Budget.

“This support from the Centre will go a long way towards rebuilding Andhra Pradesh,” he said in a social media post. “I congratulate you on the presentation of this progressive and confidence-boosting budget.”

The Janata Dal (United) also said that it was “very happy with what Bihar got”.

“Let the Opposition cry foul over it,” Party leader KC Tyagi told The Indian Express. “The idea is to ensure development of Bihar. An annual package of Rs 1 lakh crore has made a good start for us.”

Also read: