Union Budget 2024: Kerala finds no mention in Budget speech; Congress, CPI(M) allege discrimination

Thiruvananthapuram: The 2024 Union Budget turned out to be a huge disappointment for Kerala as the southern state was not even mentioned in Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s budget speech.

Following the Budget Presentation on Tuesday, the Opposition Congress and the ruling CPI(M) in the state launched a scathing attack on BJP for the alleged discrimination.

Two Union Minister -- Suresh Gopi and George Kurian -- hails from Kerala. Gopi, who is a minister of state for tourism, was expecting major initiatives in the tourism sector.

Apart from Rs 24,000 crore special financial assistance package to tide over the financial crisis, setting up of an unit of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Kerala and Rs 5,000 crore special package for infrastructure development at the Vizhinjam International Seaport were the key demands of Kerala.

Even Gopi himself had earlier mentioned about the need for AIIMS in Kerala. Since rare diseases are being increasingly reported in Kerala, the need for AIIMS in Kerala assumed more significance.

Other long pending demands included enhancing support price of rubber were also ignored.

Kerala finance minister K N Balagopal said that the centre has done away with cooperative federalism by showing discrimination to the state in the budget. The priority of the budget was to please BJP's coalition partners at the expense of others.

Meanhwhile, Kerala BJP president K Surendran countered that the centre did not cut any allocations to the state and hence the state finance minister's allegation of discrimination was "misleading". "Projects like AIIMS need not be necessarily announced in the budget," he said.

Union Budget 2024 LIVE | Making a record for any Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman presented her 7th consecutive Union Budget on July 23, 2024 under the Modi 3.0 government. This Budget brought tax relief for the middle class, while focusing on jobs through skilling, incentivising employers. Track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analysis only on Deccan Herald. Also follow us on WhatsApp, LinkedIn, X, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.