Bihar got a "bonanza" but Andhra Pradesh has been "cruelly ignored" in the Union Budget 2025, Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh said Saturday afternoon, shortly after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's 77-minute budget speech.
In a jab at the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance - of which Bihar's ruling Janata Dal (United) and the Telugu Desam Party in power in Andhra are key members - Ramesh noted sarcastically that sops for Bihar are "natural since (an Assembly) election is due there later in the year".
"It is natural since an election is due there later in the year. But why has the other pillar of the NDA, namely Andhra Pradesh, been so cruelly ignored?" Ramesh posted on X.
In a series of further tweets he also criticised various aspects of the budget, noting the economy suffers from four related crises - a), stagnant real wages, b) lack of buoyancy in mass consumption, c) sluggish rates of private investment, and d) a complicated GST (Goods and Services Tax) system
"The Budget does NOTHING to address these illnesses. The only relief has been for income tax payers. What actual impact this will have on the economy remains to be seen..." he said.
Ramesh's party colleague, Manish Tewari, also hit out on this issue.
"I fail to understand... was this a budget of Government of India or Government of Bihar? Did you hear the name of another state in the entire speech of the Union Finance Minister?"
Bihar, where Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is allied (again) with the BJP, received attention from Ms Sitharaman in her address today. This attention included a proposal to set up a makhana (fox nut or lotus nut in English) in the state.
Bihar farmers will also get special benefits from the central government's applicable schemes, the Finance Minister said, to loud cheers from Treasury benches.
Bihar is also set to get greenfield airports as part of a civil aviation push, Sitharaman said.
She also announced a canal project in the Mithilanchal region of the state and in the education sector, she said the capacity of Patna's Indian Institute of Technology, or IIT, will be increased.
