After BJP-led National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) ally Bihar found multiple mentions in Union Budget 2025, opposition in Andhra Pradesh, another partner of the ruling bloc in Centre, took a swipe at the CM Chandrababu Naidu-led government of the state for not securing significant budgetary allocations.
YSRCP leader Karthik Yellapragada slammed the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) government for not getting the state in on the budget despite having considerable influence at the Centre.
He said that it was due to the lack of effective political leadership, particularly from the TDP-Jana Sena coalition government and BJP at the Centre, that this couldn’t happen.
More advantage to Bihar than Andhra
In a self-made video, Karthik highlighted how Nitish Kumar’s state received many benefits like Greenfield airports, expansion of Patna Airport, Makhana board, and the Western Kosi Canal ERM project. Wherein, Andhra Pradesh received no allocations in key sectors like education, agriculture, industry and infrastructure.
“Despite being the significant parties in the country which is one led by Chandrababu Naidu and one by Nitish Kumar, we see that Bihar has gotten far advantage than Andhra Pradesh,” he said.
The opposition leader questioned as to how Naidu’s party, with 16 MPs, failed to get any substantial budget allocation for Andhra Pradesh, adding that people of the state feel “deceived and cheated”.
He said that there is hardly any budget allocated to the state. “In the Education, Agriculture, Industry and infrastructure sectors, Andhra Pradesh has gotten zero in terms of budget allocation. We want to question that despite being so powerful at the Centre with 16 MPs, why leadership of Chandrababu Naidu could not secure any proportion of budget allocation to the state,” the YSRCP leader added.
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her Budget speech in the Parliament on Saturday, announced multiple incentives for Bihar, a state which is due to go to polls towards the end of this year.
In addition to the expansion of the Patna airport, she also announced that Greenfield airports would be developed in Bihar and a brownfield airport will be also constructed in Bihta.
Further, the finance minister announced, “Financial support will be provided for the Western Kosi Canal ERM project benefitting a large number of farmers cultivating over 50,000 hectares of land in the Mithilanchal region of Bihar.”
However, on the contrary, Andhra CM Chandrababu Naidu hailed the Centre’s Union Budget 2025. He lauded Sitharaman for presenting a “pro-people and progressive budget”.
“This budget reflects the vision for a Viksit Bharat under the leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi Ji. It prioritizes the welfare of women, the poor, youth, and farmers, while also identifying six key sectors for growth over the next five years,” he said in a post on X.
Naidu said that this year’s budget marks a critical step towards national prosperity, adding that it serves as a comprehensive and inclusive blueprint, promising a prosperous future for our country.
“Additionally, it brings tax relief for the middle class, the backbone of our country’s economy. I welcome this budget,” CM Naidu added.
(with ANI inputs)