R Ashoka criticises CM Siddaramaiah for boycotting NITI Aayog meeting

Bengaluru: Karnataka Leader of Opposition R Ashoka on Wednesday criticised Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for boycotting the Niti Aayog meeting scheduled for July 27. Ashoka said Siddaramaiah has insulted 6.5 crore Kannadigas by boycotting the meeting to further the “petty politics” of the Congress party. “It is shameful that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has decided to boycott the Niti Aayog meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 27. Governance and development must remain above party politics. By boycotting the meeting of the highest public policy think tank of the Government of India, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has insulted 6.5 crore Kannadigas and the mandate given to the Karnataka Congress,” Ashoka said in a post on Instagram. He said, “Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, the people of Karnataka expected you to have some courage and be a statesman and put the interest of the state above the petty politics of the Congress high command. It is unfortunate that a senior leader like Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is being forced to dance to the tunes of child-brained Rahul Gandhi to continue in his chair instead of being allowed to discharge his duties as Chief Minister.” Terming the Union Budget 2024 as discriminatory, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal on Tuesday announced that his party’s chief ministers will boycott the Niti Aayog meeting scheduled for July 27. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader MK Stalin, a key ally of the Congress, has also said that he will not attend the Niti Aayog meeting, calling the budget ‘discriminatory’. KC Venugopal said, “The Union Budget presented today is highly discriminatory and dangerous, which is totally against the principles of federalism and fairness that the Central government must follow. In protest, Congress CMs will boycott the Niti Aayog meeting scheduled on July 27.” After Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the first budget in the Narendra Modi 3.0, opposition parties hit out at the Centre and dubbed the budget as a “kursi sakao budget” while the ruling party and its allies said it is a roadmap for a “developed India”. The criticism from opposition leaders came after Nirmala Sitharaman announced special schemes for Andhra Pradesh and Bihar in her budget speech. The governments in both these states are led by the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Janata Dal (United), two key allies of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), whose support is crucial for the NDA government to remain in power at the Centre. A special financial assistance of Rs 15,000 crore was announced for Andhra Pradesh for the development of its capital Amaravati. For Bihar, development projects worth Rs 58,900 crore were announced in the Union Budget. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday criticised the Union Budget 2024-25, accusing the finance minister of making empty promises. Taking to social media platform ‘X’, he tweeted, “Kursi Bachao Budget. Make allies happy: Hollow promises to them at the cost of other states. Make allies happy: No relief to common Indian, but benefits to AA. Copy and paste: Congress manifesto and previous budgets.” (ANI)