Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin recently boycotted the NITI Aayog meeting in New Delhi. He did this to protest what he described as the Centre’s huge betrayal and intentional boycott of Tamil Nadu in the Union Budget. What is the Centre vs State controversy all about?
Stalin had charged that the budget was not for the entire country, but was some sort of an agreement or alliance with Bihar and Andhra Pradesh for political reasons. He said Tamil Nadu has been neglected in the budget because the state continuously rejected communal politics. Mr Stalin made a similar remark two years ago after the budget.
A few days before the Union Budget, Mr Stalin said several central schemes were not being extended to Tamil Nadu and the state did not get its share when it came to various centrally sponsored schemes. The State has been asking for funds to complete phase 2 of the Chennai Metro Rail, and funds for disaster relief after the floods last year in Chennai and southern Tamil Nadu.
These issues were flagged by the TN Finance Minister Thangam Thennarassu, in the pre budget discussion with the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
We look at how the centre responded to the State’s demands; previous instances of the Centre-State tussle, the issue of State autonomy during Karunanidhi’s time as chief minister in the late ‘60s; what to expect with the 16th Finance Commission.
Presentation: D. Suresh Kumar
Video: Thamodharan B.
Production: Shibu Narayan
#budget2024 #tamilnadu
