DMK spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai on Sunday hit out at the Union Budget 2025 terming the present BJP government a "minority government" and that the BJP only cares to remain in power by pleasing its alliance partners Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu.
"This budget is about staying in power. BJP is a minority government. They are at the mercy of Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu, so they have to appease them. Plus, Bihar is about to have elections." he told media.
Annadurai also said "best performing" states like Tamil Nadu did not get adequate attention in the budget and criticised the government's "short-sighted views."
"When no special efforts are made for a best-performing state like Tamil Nadu, which provides funds for states like Bihar and UP, it shows their (the government's) short-sighted views," he said.
He also said another reason Tamil Nadu doesn't get space in the budget is because BJP doesn't find any political capital in the state.
"They want to paint the entire budget around one announcement which is income tax relief up to an income of Rs 12 lakh... Even if it's going to help people, it's only going to help a minuscule minority. This relief is aimed at Delhi elections because most of the beneficiaries reside in New Delhi," Annadurai told media.
Other opposition parties including Congress have also slammed the budget saying it is silent on unemployment and is "strangling MGNREGA".
In the Union Budget speech on Feb 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman gave big relief to the salaried class with no income tax on average monthly income up to Rs 1 lakh to boost household savings and consumption and the government also focussed on four engines of growth - agriculture, MSMEs, investment and exports.
The FM said the fiscal deficit for FY-25 will be 4.8% and target to bring it down to 4.4% in FY-26.
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