Nirmala Sitharaman
NEW DELHI: Amid the Budget discussion that started in the Rajya Sabha on Monday, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman called out DMK member P Wilson for his claim that Tamil Nadu was ignored in the Union Budget. She highlighted various initiatives unveiled in the Budget for the poll-bound state and observed that “sweeping statements like these without any basis, linked with the budget which has been presented only eight days ago, is not right at all”. Participating in the debate on the Union Budget in the Rajya Sabha, DMK and AIADMK also targeted each other over the announcements and projects for Tamil Nadu. During his speech, Wilson alleged that “for several years, Tamil Nadu has consistently argued that the Union govt’s approach to tax devolution has systematically disadvantaged developed and high performing states, including Tamil Nadu”. “If Tamil Nadu is your best performer, you should cherish and showcase the state, not undercut it at every turn, we delivered 11.4% growth last year. Why this discrimination,” he questioned. “Madam, what you give to Tamil Nadu will come back to you. Since you have not given anything, nothing will come back to you. Tamil Nadu is the jewel on India’s crown. We are India’s best performing state… I call upon the PM and the FM to be fair to Tamil Nadu,” Wilson said. The FM rejected his claims saying , “one thing that stood out was Tamil Nadu has been given no new projects, which was absolutely wrong”. TNN
