I.N.D.I.A Bloc Leaders Plan Protests Against Union Budget, Slam Govt’s Allocation

GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 24th July. Leaders of the I.N.D.I.A bloc convened on Tuesday evening at Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence in Delhi to discuss their response to the Union Budget for FY 2024-25, presented earlier in the day by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Senior Congress leader Pramod Tiwari announced that the bloc is dissatisfied with the budget and has planned a protest march to the Parliament today. In addition, they have decided to stage a demonstration inside the Parliament.

Tiwari slammed the central government for allegedly neglecting non-BJP-ruled states, asserting, “We discussed the budget…Wherever there is a non-BJP government, the budget has been blacked out. In the name of development, there is nothing. We will hold a protest tomorrow in the Parliament regarding this. We will raise our voice inside the Parliament also. This is not the budget of the BJP, it is the budget of the whole country, but they have presented it as if it is BJP’s budget.”

The meeting was attended by several prominent figures, including Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Congress leader KC Venugopal, NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, and AAP Rajya Sabha MPs Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chaddha.

Rahul Gandhi slammed the budget, labeling it a “Kursi Bachao” budget and a mere replication of the Congress manifesto.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee described the budget as discriminatory towards her state, while Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin condemned it for lacking provisions for Tamil Nadu. Stalin announced a boycott of the NITI Aayog meeting scheduled for July 27 in protest.