Congress MP Jairam Ramesh during the Monsoon session of the Parliament
| Photo Credit: PTI

The Congress on July 30 claimed that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had “pulled a fast one” on NDA allies in Bihar and Andhra Pradesh given that most announcements in the Budget will not see the light of day for a few years.

The move, said Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh, was “a post-dated cheque on a crashing bank”. In a post on X, he also shared a media report claiming that financial packages for Andhra Pradeshand Bihar will likely cost the Centre ₹20,000-30,000 crore.

“The non-biological PM’s Kursi Bachao Budget makes critical promises to two states, Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. Specific projects in Bihar have been allocated ₹58,900 crores, and in Andhra, Phase I of Polavaram Project alone will cost the Union Government (which is committed to bearing the entire expense of the Irrigation project) ₹14,000 crore,” he said.

“Several other projects have been announced without clear allocations, but the total funding commitments made by the Budget to the two states run into lakhs of crores on paper,” he said.

Despite these big commitments, Ramesh said a newspaper reported on July 29 that the financial package for Andhra Pradesh and Bihar may cost the exchequer only about ₹20,000-30,000 crore this year.

“The Budget’s expenditure numbers confirm the same. The ‘Special Assistance under the demand – Transfers to States’ is ₹20,000 crore. Even if the whole corpus is allocated only to these two states, that leaves a funding gap of tens of thousands of crores,” he said.

“The Finance Minister has pulled a fast one on NDA allies in Bihar and Andhra Pradesh. Most of these grand announcements in the Budget will not see the light of day for a few years, at best. And when the time comes to redeem the funds for these promised projects, this unstable Government will no longer be in power,” Mr. Ramesh claimed.

“As Mahatma Gandhi said of the Cripps Mission in 1942, this is ‘a post-dated cheque on a crashing bank’,” Mr. Ramesh said.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. File Photo
| Photo Credit: ANI

Giving importance to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, a key alliance partner of the Narendra Modi government, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on July 23 announced to sanction ₹58,900 crore to Bihar in the 2024 Union Budget.

This includes ₹26,000 crore for road projects, a 2,400-MW power plant at a cost of ₹21,400 crore in Pirpainti and ₹11,500 crore for flood fighting.

The Janata Dal (United) leader called it a big gift to Bihar, a day after the Centre denied the Special Category Status (SCS) to the State. Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) termed it an eyewash.

“Since the beginning I have been saying that the Centre must give special help to Bihar and today they have made the announcement to help us in several developmental projects and schemes. Our motive was to get the benefit to the State from the Centre with additional help,” Mr. Kumar said.

Asked whether the demand for the SCS would remain alive, Mr. Kumar said, “We were seeking Special Category Status but it was closed long ago. So, for the development of Bihar, we wanted special help and now the Centre has started. You all should be happy that at least things have started rolling now.”

Mr. Kumar slammed the Opposition and said they criticised him unnecessarily.

Later, Mr. Kumar posted a message on X in which he welcomed the budget for Bihar.

“The budget presented by the Central government is positive and welcoming. In this budget, special attention has been paid to the needs of Bihar. Under this, special attention has been paid to human resource development and infrastructure development of Bihar. In this budget, special funds have been provided for road projects, power projects, airports and medical colleges to Bihar. Along with this, special assistance has been announced in the budget for the development of tourist places in Bihar. A big announcement has also been made in the budget to protect Bihar from floods,” Mr. Kumar posted on X.

He said, “Special thanks to the respected Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman ji for the special provision in the budget for Bihar. These announcements will help in the development of the State. It is hoped that in the future also the Central government will help in the development of Bihar in the same way for other needs.”

The Finance Minister announced road connectivity projects, including Patna-Purnia Expressway; Buxar-Bhagalpur Expressway; Bodh Gaya, Rajgir, Vaishali and Darbhanga spurs; and a two-lane bridge over river Ganga at Buxar.

Tourist destinations

The Central government will support comprehensive development of Vishnupad temple corridor and Mahabodhi temple corridor, as well as Nalanda, to develop them as tourist destinations.

Leader of the Opposition in Bihar Assembly Tejashwi Yadav called the Budget disappointing.

“Today’s budget has again disappointed the people of Bihar. A revival plan was needed to take Bihar on the path of progress for which a special package along with the Special Category Status is urgently needed. Calling the routine allocation and previously approved and allocated schemes as new gifts is an insult to Bihar. To stop migration, remove backwardness of the State and for better future of youth along with industries, we will not step back even an inch from our demand for the SCS,” Mr. Yadav posted on ‘X’.

Bihar Congress Legislature Party leader Shakeel Ahmad Khan said the Modi government had cheated the people of Bihar and there should not be any compromise less than the SCS.