The leaders of the I.N.D.I.A bloc on Tuesday held a meeting after the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the budget for FY 2024-25. The meeting was held at the residence of Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge in Delhi. Senior Congress leader Pramod Tiwari said that the I.N.D.I.A. bloc leaders, being unhappy with the union budget, will hold a protest march to the Parliament today. Moreover, they also decided to protest inside the Parliament.
While talking to the media, Pramod accused the central government of ignoring non-BJP-ruled states in the budget. He said, "We discussed the budget...Wherever there is a non-BJP government, the budget has been blacked out. In the name of development, there is nothing. We will hold a protest tomorrow in the Parliament regarding this. We will raise our voice inside the Parliament also. This is not the budget of the BJP, it is the budget of the whole country, but they have presented it as if it is BJP's budget."
The meeting was attended by Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi, Congress leader KC Venugopal, NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, AAP Raja Sabya MPs Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chaddha, among others. Notably, Rahul Gandhi, today criticised the budget terming it as 'Kursi Bachao' budget and a copy-paste of the Congress manifesto. Moreover, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee also called it discriminatory against the state. Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin condemned the budget saying that no announcement has been made for the southern state. He also announced to boycott of the NITI Aayog meeting in protest, which is to be held on July 27.
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