With the release of the Union Budget 2024-25, there has been a lot of hue and cry from the opposition. Tamil Nadu CM Stalin recently decided to boycott the NITI Aayog’s meeting, scheduled for 27th July. Reacting to this, BJP Tamil Nadu President, Mr. K. Annamalai, called Stalin’s move to boycott NITI Aayog meeting ‘Quite Theatrical.’
Annamalai’s Rebuttal…
In a social media post, he stated that CM Stalin is trying to “Mislead People” into believing that only the states mentioned in the budget speech receive benefits. He said that between 2004-2014, the Congress-DMK, UPA government had failed to mention the state’s name in six budget speeches. He quizzed, “Is Mr. Stalin implying that no schemes were provided for Tamil Nadu during those years?”
“Is he unaware that between 2014 and 2024, under the BJP Government, TN received ten times more through budget announcements than in years under the UPA Government? What is the TN CM hoping to achieve by choosing to boycott the NITI Aayog meeting aimed at addressing state needs?” he asked.
Furthermore, he pointed out how in the past five years, the DMK led government and elected MP’s have ‘Failed’ to address any constituency related issues. He added, “I urge Mr. Stalin to give up such empty theatrics aimed at self-promotion and instead pursue constructive politics for the development of our State.”
Lastly, in his social media post, he presented figures as to how under UPA, Tamil Nadu received around Rs. 8,054 crore between 2004-2014. Whereas under the BJP-led NDA government, between 2014-2024, the state has received around Rs. 1,05,150 crore.
TN CM Thiru @mkstalin is the most vindictive CM whose governance track record over the last 3 years borders near zero, has been afraid to go to Niti Aayog meetings for the last 2 years citing flimsy reasons, and now has the audacity to lecture on governance to our Hon. PM Thiru… pic.twitter.com/zUwGyhvqY9
— K.Annamalai (@annamalai_k) July 24, 2024
According to Congress (Moopanar) president, Mr. G.K. Vasan, CM Stalin’s decision to boycott the NITI Aayog meeting for political reasons is an “Act of Injustice” to the voters of Tamil Nadu. He said, “It is the duty of the Chief Minister to participate in the NITI Aayog meeting and urge the Prime Minister and Finance Minister if he feels that the State has not been allotted sufficient funds.”