Budget neglected Telangana, say Congress, CPI(M)

Hyderabad, Feb 1 : The opposition Congress and CPI(M) in Telangana on Monday slammed the Union Budget for allegedly neglecting the state.

State Congress president and Lok Sabha member N Uttam Kumar Reddy said more allocations were made for election- bound states like West Bengal and Tamil Nadu while others were neglected.

The BJP government at the Centre has failed to ensure equitable distribution of resources among all states, he said.

This is a wrong practice and if it continues, then the states would get new projects and funds only during election-years, he said.

“All the four BJP MPs from Telangana, including state BJP president Bandi Sanjay, should be ashamed of themselves for having failed to get a single rupee for Telangana in the Budget.

They should now stop making tall claims and fake promises with regard to the state,” Reddy said.

The budget would bring more profits to the corporates while leaving the poor further languishing in poverty, CPI(M) state secretary Tammineni Veerabhadram said.

The ruling TRS (Telangana Rashtra Samithi) in Telangana should at least now take along opposition parties and try to get funds for the state by mounting pressure on the Centre, he said in a statement.

Bandi Sanjay, meanwhile, hailed the budget and said it would help improve the living standards of the poor and the middle-class.

He said the budget would help more women as one crore more beneficiaries are now permitted in the Ujwala LPG cylinders supply scheme.

The effort of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to balance welfare and development is appreciable, he said.