TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee takes swipe at BJP on allocations for Bihar, Andhra in Budget 2024

New Delhi: Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee on Tuesday took a jibe at the Bharatiya Janata Party over announcing special packages in the Union Budget for states like Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, which are ruled by key allies of the ruling coalition.

"This is a kursi bachao (saving seat) budget. They have presented the Budget for those parties which will save their seats. This budget is to keep their NDA partners Nitish Kumar and in Andhra Pradesh," Banerjee said speaking to ANI after the presentation of the first Budget of the third term of Narendra Modi government.

Slamming the BJP for allegedly not announcing any special allocation for West Bengal, the TMC leader said, "This Budget is not for India. They have not given anything to Bengal. They can't tolerate Bengalis. The BJP will be wiped out of Bengal."

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made major announcements for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday, including a boost in infrastructure and special financial support.

In her Budget speech in Parliament, Nirmala Sitharaman said, "On the Amritsar-Kolkata industrial corridor we will support the development of an industrial nod at Gaya in Bihar. We will also support the construction of road connectivity projects namely Patna-Purnia Expressway, Buxar-Bagalpur Expressway, Bodhgaya-Rajgir-Vaishali-Darbanga and an additional two-lane bridge over river Ganga at Buxar at a total cost of Rs 26,000 cr."

"Power projects, including setting up of a new 2400 megawatt power plant at Pirpainti, will be taken up at a cost of Rs 21400 crore," she added.

The Finance Minister said that new airports, medical colleges and sports infrastructure in Bihar will be constructed. An additional allocation to support capital investments will be provided, she said.

She emphasised that the requests of the Bihar government for external assistance from multi-lateral development banks will be expedited. The FM also announced an allocation of Rs 11500 crore for flood control measures in Bihar. Funds have also been provided for developing the Temple corridors in the iconic temples in Bihar. The Kashi Model will be implemented in Bodh Gaya. Special funds have also been provided for the Rajgir Jain Temple site.

Andhra Pradesh also benefited from the Union Budget 2024-25 as the Finance Minister announced special financial support to the state, recognising the state's need for capital.

"Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act- Our govt has made efforts to fulfil the commitments in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act. Recognising the state's need for capital, we will facilitate special financial support through multilateral agencies," Sitharaman said."

"In the current FY, Rs 15,000 crore will be arranged with additional amounts in future years," she added.

The Finance Minister presented the first Union Budget of the Modi 3.0 government and her seventh consecutive one on Tuesday. The budget session of Parliament began on July 22 and, according to schedule, will end on August 12.