Editorial: Betrayal, again

The NDA government has lost yet another opportunity to resolve the genuine issues of the States.

Hyderabad: A clear message from the union Budget 2023-24 is that it has an eye on the next year’s general election. Raising the income tax relief limit and reducing the tax rates may help in wooing the middle classes but the NDA government has lost yet another opportunity to resolve the genuine issues of the States. If one was expecting the Budget, the last full-fledged one for the BJP-led NDA before going to the Lok Sabha polls, to address the concerns of the States in a spirit of true federalism, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s presentation has come as a disappointment. Her attempt to present a please-all Budget has turned out to be high on rhetoric and low on substance. Even the income tax rebate of up to Rs 7 lakh announced by the Finance Minister is insignificant, considering the inflation and price rise. The Budget presented no solution to price rise, inflation and unemployment. In fact, some of the welfare schemes saw their funding slashed. The Budget was the right occasion for the Centre to prove that it truly believes in its oft-repeated slogans ‘Make in India’ and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ by extending support to progressive states like Telangana. But, what it ended up doing was selective granting of funds and projects, as reflected by the Rs 5,300 crore aid announced for the Upper Bhadra project in BJP-ruled Karnataka. Despite recommendations by the NITI Aayog, the Centre has been deliberately ignoring the need for extending financial support for schemes in Telangana.

The complete neglect of the interests of the States has once again demonstrated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s oft-repeated catchphrase “Team India” to describe the spirit of cooperative federalism is just an empty slogan. It appears that political considerations are allowed to guide economic decisions. For a State that has set an example for the rest of the country in terms of innovative welfare and development schemes, Telangana has been handed out a raw deal by the Centre. Be it the failure to keep the promises made in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, an arbitrary slash in the allocation of funds or deliberate volte-face on the promised development projects, the NDA government’s approach has been callous and disappointing. The State government had made repeated requests pertaining to nearly 35 pending issues, including assurances given under Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, but there has been no response. The list of unfulfilled promises is quite long: Bayyaram Steel Plant, Tribal University, Information Technology Investment Regions (ITIR) and Kazipet railway coach factory. Ironically, Telangana is made to suffer because of the discriminatory and politically biased attitude of the Centre. It is unfortunate that despite Telangana contributing a lion’s share to the country’s economy, the Centre is showing discrimination in the allocation of funds.