Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav on Wednesday said the Centre has cheated Bihar in the Union Budget 2023-24 and fooled the people of the State.
“Bihar is a backward State. The Prime Minister and the Centre had made commitments to grant Bihar a special package and status several times before but nothing has been done so far. They have only fooled the people of Bihar and cheated us,” Mr. Yadav said while speaking to mediapersons in Patna.
He also sought to compare Wednesday’s Budget with previous Budgets. “There are lots of differences between previous Budgets and this Budget. People should know about the revenue and expenditure and they should be told from where the money is coming and where it is going... but they are not”, said Mr. Yadav.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who is currently undertaking a ‘Samadhan Yatra’ (solution journey) across the State, said he couldn’t listen to the Budget speech as the yatra was pre-scheduled. “Once I wrap up today’s yatra, I will get to know the details,” Mr. Kumar told mediapersons in Supaul.
However, Finance Minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary, who was alongside Mr. Kumar, said the State’s demands were not met in the Budget. “The people of Bihar had a lot of expectations from the Budget but the Centre has again cheated the State,” said Mr. Choudhary.
The Congress also echoed similar views. Senior State Congress leader Ajit Sharma said, “Bihar has got nothing in the Budget and the people of Bihar have been cheated once again,” said.
Opposition BJP leaders termed the Budget “pro-people”. “It’s a balanced and pro-people Budget which will benefit all sections of people in the country,” said Vijay Kumar Sinha, BJP leader and Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly.
