“PM didn’t receive mandate, so more has been given to Andhra and Bihar”: TMC MP Saugata Roy on Budget 2024

New Delhi [India], July 25 (ANI): Hitting back at Union Minister Kiren Rijiju for his critical remarks against the opposition of “insulting people’s mandate”, by criticizing the Budget, TMC MP Saugata Roy on Thursday said that the Prime Minister has not received the majority, hence more focus has been laid to Andhra Pradesh and Bihar in the Union budget 2024.

Pointing fingers at the BJP, over the 2024 election results, in which the Bhartiya Janata party retained power with the help of TDP and JD(U) after it failed to reach the majority mark, TMC MP Saugata Roy said that special attention has been given to Andhra Pradesh and Bihar in the Budget.

“Modi ji has not received the mandate and that is why more has been given to Andhra Pradesh and Bihar and that is why this will be discussed,” TMC MP Saugata Roy said while speaking to ANI.

Earlier today, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju accused the opposition of insulting the people’s mandate by criticizing the Budget.

Speaking on the significance of the budget, Rijiju highlighted its ambitious goals and termed it as a “historical budget”.

“I want to condemn the remarks made by some opposition leaders on the Budget. The opposition did not say anything about the budget, rather they have just done politics. They have insulted the mandate of the people, which is not right for democracy. After the presentation of the first budget of the historic third term under the leadership of PM Modi, the country wants to see that the discussion on the budget takes place in a good and meaningful manner. The way the leaders of some parties commented during the budget session and the way they gave speeches, I would like to say that they have insulted the House by lowering the dignity of the budget session,” Rijiju said while addressing the media on Thursday.

“The budget aims to make India the third largest economy. There is allocation for infrastructure, provision for covering every corner of the world, for women, for employment, and for farmers. If the opposition doesn’t understand, the public will punish them. PM Modi has come to power for the third time because of the public. opposition is trying to change the narrative,” he added.

Meanwhile, Opposition leaders have claimed that the budget allocation for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh is a strategy by the BJP to “save its government.”

Congress leader Pramod Tiwari said that the BJP has given a ‘jhunjhuna’ to Bihar and Andhra Pradesh.

“They had made big promises for farmers, but what did they get? There was no mention of MSP, and neither was there an increase in Kisan Nidhi,” he said.

Andhra Pradesh was given a special focus in the Union Budget, with Sitharaman announcing special financial support to address the state’s need for capital. She emphasized efforts to fulfil commitments under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, declaring an allocation of Rs 15,000 crore for the current fiscal year, with additional amounts to follow in future years.

Additionally, the Finance Minister announced an allocation of Rs 26,000 cr for the development in Bihar.

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.”