Opposition slams NDA over ‘step-motherly treatment’ to Maharashtra; Fadnavis says ‘read the fine print’

With the Maharashtra assembly elections due in October and no state-specific announcements in Sitharaman’s speech, MVA leaders were quick to attack the Centre, saying the budget was not for India but for the NDA’s allies in Bihar and Andhra Pradesh

Mumbai: The sops doled out to Bihar and Andhra Pradesh in the Union Budget for 2024-25 prompted the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) to slam the Bharatiya Janata Party-led governments at the Centre and state for alleged “step-motherly treatment” towards Maharashtra.

New Delhi: Congress MPs from Maharashtra and Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi stage a protest after tabling of the Union Budget 2024-25, at Parliament House complex during the Monsoon session, in New Delhi, Tuesday, July 23, 2024. (PTI Photo/Manvender Vashist Lav)(PTI07_23_2024_000266B) (PTI)

Deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, however, countered the argument, saying opposition leaders should read the fine print of the budget, as there are several provisions that would benefit Maharashtra.

The changed political dynamics at the Centre, with the BJP falling short of a single-party majority and needing the support of its allies Janata Dal (United) or JD(U) and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) to form a government, reflected in the National Democratic Alliance’s first budget after returning to power for a third straight term.

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday announced various sops for the home states of JD(U) and TDP. The Centre allotted ₹15,000 crore for developing Andhra Pradesh’s capital city Amaravati, and ₹26,000 crore for various road projects in Bihar, among other schemes.

With the Maharashtra assembly elections due in October and no state-specific announcements in Sitharaman’s speech, MVA leaders were quick to attack the Centre, saying the budget was not for India but for the NDA’s allies in Bihar and Andhra Pradesh.

“Bihar and Andhra Pradesh were given sops because Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu supported the NDA government. [Shiv Sena chief] Eknath Shinde, too, supported it, but Maharashtra was given nothing. Why is step-motherly treatment being given to the state that is paying the highest taxes to the Centre?” said Congress leader and leader of the opposition in the state assembly, Vijay Wadettiwar.

Maharashtra topped the list of states to have filed the highest income tax returns in the financial year 2022-23, at ₹1.98 crore. “BJP wants Maharashtra to collect taxes and for votes but ignores it when it comes to giving anything in the union budget. It’s time for the people of Maharashtra to give a befitting reply to the BJP,” Wadettiwar added.

The opposition alliance has often accused the BJP of bias against Maharashtra, and diverting investment and projects from the state to Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray kept up with that line of attack in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

“I can understand the BJP wanting to save its government and giving Bihar and Andhra Pradesh a huge sum of the budget, but what is Maharashtra’s fault? That we are the largest taxpayer? What did we get against what we contributed? Was Maharashtra even mentioned once in the budget? Why does the BJP hate and insult Maharashtra so much?” he wrote.

Thackeray also alleged this was not the first time in the past decade of BJP rule that there was a bias against Maharashtra. “It’s a shame that despite unconstitutionally forming a government and running the most corrupt regime in our state, Maharashtra gets nothing in return,” he added.

Thackeray’s father and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray said:

“It seems that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has started the Naavadata Maharashtra (Disliked Maharashtra) scheme. In the last 10 years, Maharashtra and Mumbai were looted. At the same time, the union government disappointed Maharashtra in every budget. How much more injustice should Maharashtra tolerate?”

NCP (SP) working president Supriya Sule criticised the BJP’s allies in the Mahayuti government, Shiv Sena and NCP, for not speaking up for the state. “I have no issue with Bihar or Andhra Pradesh receiving funds, but the injustice towards Maharashtra is evident. The NDA also has two constituents from Maharashtra. They should be questioned about their views on the budget,” she said. Some MVA MPs even protested outside Parliament, shouting slogans against the NDA government.

The MVA’s attack was in line with its poll plank that it wants to safeguard Maharashtra’s interests from the BJP and its allies who are insulting “Marathi asmita” (identity). The issue is likely to be raked up again as both sides gear up for the assembly elections. The MVA is looking to keep up the momentum it gained by winning 30 of the 48 seats in Maharashtra in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls. The Mahayuti, meanwhile, is looking to bounce back after managing to win only 17 seats.

Deputy CM Fadnavis countered the opposition’s attack, saying it was setting up a “negative narrative”. Maharashtra has “significant allocations” in the union budget, and the opposition leaders should make an effort to read the fine print, he added.

“Maharashtra will receive ₹908 crore under MUTP-3 (Mumbai Urban Transport Project), which will strengthen the local rail network in Mumbai. Mumbai Metro will get ₹1,087 crore, the Mumbai-Delhi corridor ₹499 crore, MMR green urban transport ₹150 crore, ₹683 crore for Nagpur Metro and ₹814 crore for Pune Metro,” said Fadnavis. However, officials from the Railways said that, as of now, there is no clarity on any allocations and there hasn’t been any official communication on the same.

Fadnavis also said the Vidarbha region has been given ₹600 crore for irrigation to tackle drought, along with ₹400 crore for the rural roads network and ₹690 crore for Mula-Mutha river improvement project.

Chief Minister Shinde lauded the Union Budget, calling it a “Navratna” budget that focused on nine areas: agriculture, women, youth, skill development, employment, infrastructure development, urban development, youth welfare, employment promotion, and ‘Viksit Bharat’ or a Developed India.

“The budget centres around the common citizen. It is a start to achieve the goal of making India a $5 trillion economy,” Shinde said, adding that the tax structure was corrected in this budget, which has benefitted common people. He also said the working class would benefit, and the budget would help create five million additional jobs.

Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar insisted that the budget has won the hearts of the people of Maharashtra and the country.