Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Defends 2024 Union Budget Amid Opposition Criticism

Budget 2024: In a fresh development amid the nationwide criticism of Union Budget 2024, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has asserted that no state has been overlooked in the 2024 Union Budget. The statement from the Union Minister comes in response to opposition claims that her budget speech this week mentioned only two states – Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, both governed by key BJP allies.

Sitharaman, who presented her seventh consecutive budget on Tuesday, emphasized that the centre is legally mandated to support Andhra Pradesh following its bifurcation in 2014.

“States are receiving allocations as they have in the past… no state has been denied anything. The Act (Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act) requires the centre to support (the state) in building its capital city and developing backward regions,” she explained in her interview with NDTV.