Telangana MLC from Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and former MP Kavitha Kalvakuntla on Wednesday, February 1, called the Union Budget 2023 a “mathematical confirmation of the Modi government’s failure.” Alleging discrimination by the Union government against Telangana for not providing any funds to the state’s projects, Kavitha, who is the daughter of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, asked, “If Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas is the motto of the government, then why is there no equitable distribution of funds?”
Telangana Congress leader and former Minister in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh Mohammad Ali Shabbir too slammed the motto, while condemning the reduction in the allocation for the Ministry of Minority Affairs. The ministry has been allocated Rs 3,097 crore this year, a reduction of over 38% from last year’s Rs 5,020 crore. Last year’s allocation was later revised to Rs 2,612 crore (revised estimate). He said a lot of hype was created after last year’s budget allocation, but the government silently reduced the amount to Rs 2,612 crore as per the revised estimate. This year's allocation of Rs 3,097 crore is less than that of 2012-13 (when Rs 3,155 crore was allocated), he said.
Shabbir Ali alleged that the Narendra Modi-led Union government has been “systematically targeting the schemes meant for the economic and educational empowerment of poor minorities,” and “crushing minorities socially, educationally and economically.” Shabbir Ali further pointed out that under the Ministry of Minority Affairs, allocations for various central sector schemes were also reduced drastically, including Skill Development and Livelihoods (from Rs 492 crore to Rs 64 crore), Nai Manzil, an integrated educational and livelihood initiative for minority communities (from Rs 14 crore to Rs 3,00,000, Upgrading Skill and Training in Traditional Arts/Crafts for Development (USTTAD) (from Rs 14 crore to Rs 3 lakh) and the Scheme for Leadership Development of Minority Women (from Rs 2.5 crore to Rs 10 lakh).
Presenting the Budget, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced in her speech that 157 new nursing colleges will be established. However, Kavitha alleged that Telangana will not be getting any of these nursing colleges, as the Finance Minister specified that these new institutions will be established near the 157 existing medical colleges established since 2014. “The 157 new nursing colleges are coming up at the same places where colleges were established earlier. In our state, they did not give even one college previously, so we are not getting anything,” said Kavitha.
Alleging bias against Telangana in the Budget, the former Nizamabad MP remarked, “Is this a national budget or a budget of only a few states? I am very happy that the Karnataka Upper Bhadra project is receiving Rs 5,300 crore, but what about the Mission Bhagiratha [drinking water] project or Kaleshwaram [irrigation] project of Telangana? NITI Aayog has recommended providing funds for these projects, but not a single rupee has been given.”
Kavitha expressed disappointment over the Union government not making a mention of the money owed to the states in the Budget. Further criticising the Budget, Kavitha said, “There is no direction in this entire budget. There is no concrete plan for the future. It looks like the government believes that they are going to go away in one year. They are announcing new schemes when there is no audit of the old schemes.”
In 2020, the Narendra Modi-led Union government had announced a special economic package worth Rs 20 lakh crore under the Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan for various COVID-19 relief measures. However, the Union government is yet to release the promised funds, Kavitha said. “Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are the backbone of our country. They constitute the highest employment generating sector of our country. They should get a lot of incentives. This government has been making many promises to them for the past three years but has done nothing for them,” she added.
The Finance Minister on Wednesday also announced that the capital investment outlay was being increased by 33% to Rs 10 lakh crore, to boost infrastructure development. Kavitha sought more precise details regarding this announcement and asked, “Are you going to help us build roads or dams? Why is there no clarity? Is this infrastructure going to one of your corporate friends?”