Opposition INDIA stages protests against Union Budget over alleged discrimination in states

Members of Parliament from the opposition INDIA alliance have announced a series of protests beginning Wednesday in response to what they describe as discriminatory measures in the recently announced Union Budget. The protests are set to continue until the first meeting of the newly reconstituted governing council of the NITI Aayog on Saturday.

Congress Lok Sabha whip Manickam Tagore stated, “INDIA MPs will protest against the discrimination of states in the budget at 10:15 AM in front of the Parliament House entrance.”

The decision to organise protests was made during a meeting on Tuesday evening, led by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, following the budget presentation by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Congress leader KC Venugopal criticised this year’s budget, claiming it undermines the concept of equitable financial distribution among states. “They (the BJP-led central government) have totally discriminated against the majority of the states. Therefore, the general sentiment of the INDIA alliance is that we must protest,” he said.

While the budget included various announcements benefiting Bihar and Andhra Pradesh—states governed by key BJP allies—the opposition contends that many other states received little to no support. 

Despite the planned protests, opposition members will still engage in budget discussions, with Congress fielding prominent leaders such as Kumari Selja, Shashi Tharoor, and Praniti Shinde during the initial debate hours.

In a significant move, Congress announced that its chief ministers will boycott the upcoming NITI Aayog governing council meeting on July 27. Venugopal declared, “The Union Budget presented today was extremely discriminatory and dangerous, which completely goes against the principles of federalism and fairness that the Union Government must follow.”

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin also confirmed his decision to boycott the NITI Aayog meeting, criticizing the budget for lacking provisions for Tamil Nadu. “The words ‘Tamil’ or ‘Tamil Nadu’ do not appear even once in the entire budget speech,” he noted on social media, referencing the government’s previous neglect of Tamil Nadu’s funding needs.

While some chief ministers from the INDIA bloc have announced their intention to boycott the meeting, others, including West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, have not yet made a decision.