Parliament Budget Session Highlights: On Day 4 of the Parliament Session, a discussion on the Budget 2024-25 is taking place in both the Houses – Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha – on Thursday. On Wednesday, the Parliament witnessed ruckus by Opposition MPs who called the Budget “discriminatory” and staged a walkout protest in the Rajya Sabha.
As the INDIA bloc accused the Centre of showing “favouritism” towards the states that are ruled by NDA allies, mainly Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman rejected the criticism as “outrageous”. She said, “If the speech does not mention a particular state, does it mean the schemes of the Government of India, the externally-aided assistance that we obtain from the World Bank, ADB and so on, don’t go to these states? They go as per a routine.”
Parliament Session Day 4 Highlights: Discussion on Budget continues in Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha. Follow Financial Express for all the Parliament-related latest updates.
In the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, AAP MP Raghav Chadha criticised the high taxes citizens have to pay. Chadha said in Rajya Sabha, “We pay taxes like those in UK, England and get services similar to those in Somalia.”
Talking about the protests being held by the Opposition over the Budget, Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Dimple Yadav said, “politics and budget are interrelated. Had it not been for politics, Andhra Pradesh and Bihar wouldn’t have been given a special package.”
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday said, “Budget of health and education ministries have been reduced, so I asked them the reason. There is no politics in this.”
“Two states have been given favourable treatment to satisfy their coalition partners. We know this is how it works and we also have the right to protest against it… I am happy for the people of Bihar for getting such a generous package. It is a very big deal… 3 Congress and 1 DMK Chief Minister said they would not attend the NITI Aayog meeting because there was nothing for their states in the budget… Maybe Mamata Banerjee has an issue which she wants to discuss,” Tharoor added.
Question hour is underway in the Lower House. Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises of India Jitan Ram Manjhi responded to a query on the number of women employed in MSMEs. Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu also addressed queries on the cancellation and delay of Air India flights. Meanwhile, Zero Hour is going on in Rajya Sabha.
On Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju’s statement on Opposition, Congress MP Amarinder Singh Raja Warring says, “We can’t see what has been allocated (in Union Budget 2024) for the farmers…If an allocation was made for farmers, then why are the farmers protesting? The pain of the farmers is that they are not being heard…You (the Centre) waived off loans of corporates but not of farmers…”
Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi arrived at the Parliament for the Monsoon Session on Thursday.
#watch | Delhi: Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi arrived at the Parliament for the #monsoonsession2024 pic.twitter.com/rUiiANnNjR
— ANI (@ANI) July 25, 2024
On Wednesday, Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, met a delegation of farmers at the Parliament House and assured them that the INDIA alliance will put pressure on the central government, including moving a Private Member’s Bill, to ensure farmers get a guarantee for Minimum Support Price (MSP). The budget session of Parliament began on July 22 and is scheduled to end on August 12.