By Krishank Manne The union Budget 2022 is yet another moment of expectations for the corporates, salaried classes, and huge statements of targets such as doubling the income of farmers, $5 trillion economy, tax rebates, price decrease, etc. There are also requisites from the State, be it long-pending demands or contributory permissions in infrastructure building. […]
By Krishank Manne
The union Budget 2022 is yet another moment of expectations for the corporates, salaried classes, and huge statements of targets such as doubling the income of farmers, $5 trillion economy, tax rebates, price decrease, etc. There are also requisites from the State, be it long-pending demands or contributory permissions in infrastructure building. We often hear these debated during Parliament sessions or being persuaded by State representatives with the Government of India or at platforms of deliberations where the Centre and the States meet like the Niti Aayog and GST Council.
The government of Telangana for years has been requesting the Centre to contribute to several schemes, projects as well as provide those promised during the bifurcation as mentioned in AP Reorganisation Act.
Narrow Thinking
Telangana was promised a Tribal University. The UPA shrugged off its responsibility by just mentioning to see the feasibility of Rail Coach Factory and Bayyaram Steel Plant. This came as an excuse for the BJP, which blatantly states that there is no feasibility to establish a Rail Coach Factory in Telangana and a steel plant in Bayyaram. What came as a surprise was that Latur in Maharashtra was promised a Rail Coach Factory before polls and within a span of just 3 months, the BJP without even thinking about the feasibility or even their own stand in Parliament that no rail coach factories were further needed, established a Rail Coach Factory in Latur.
The current government of India has not lived up to the expectations but has mostly downplayed requests of the States. The narrow thinking confined only to the political spectrum has failed the overall significance of national relevance and governance. What has remained is just a specific short-term approach for appeasing with the sole aim of grabbing eyeballs during polls. Just like how Prime Minister’s Republic Day attire had Uttarakhand’s cap and Manipur’s stole, Pagdi for a Punjabi look during NCC Rally, only when these States have polls.
Similarly, the PM while taking the first dose vaccine jab had an Assamese Gamosa around his neck and the nurse who gave the shot was from Puducherry. Not surprisingly, both these States too had polls then. This is not a photo opportunity but a narrow attempt at the political opportunity by those in power at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg.
Neglecting States
The union Budgets since 2015, if observed, have failed in meeting the demands of the States, which have been large contributors like Telangana. Instead, the BJP at the helm of affairs has ridiculed the union Budgets and has limited it to a mere election manifesto for State polls. In the 2015 union Budget, special financial assistance was announced for Bihar along with an AIIMS as the State went to polls in the same year.
In the 2016 union Budget, there was a bonanza announcement with special mention to West Bengal, Assam, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. For West Bengal, Nirmala Sitharaman announced a whopping Rs 25,000 crore worth of road projects, Kerala’s metro railway phase 2 got its funding, Rs 3,400 crore for road development in Assam was announced with cheers in Parliament and Tamil Nadu was promised the allocations for construction for Madurai-Kollam economic corridor. These four States had polls in 2016.
In early 2017, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa, Uttarakhand and Manipur saw elections. The Election Commission wrote to the Government of India to refrain from poll promises in the union Budget, but because there were elections in the later part of 2017, an AIIMS was announced for Gujarat while Bullet Train found its place in the Rail Budget.
In the 2018 union Budget, Karnataka was allocated Rs 17,000 crore for Bengaluru Metro while polls were round the corner, and in 2019 before the Delhi Assembly polls, the National Capital found itself in the interim Budget with Rs 400-plus crore earmarked for Delhi Metro. Last year, ie, in the 2021 union Budget, massive outlays were made for national highways — Rs 1.03 lakh crore for 3,500 km in Tamil Nadu, Rs 65,000 crore for 1,100 km in Kerala, Rs 25,000 crore for 675 km in West Bengal and over Rs 34,000 crore for Assam. It is no surprise that Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam and Kerala had Assembly elections. But even these big announcements did not help the BJP, which lost in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Kerala.
Deaf to TS’ Requests
This should make it clear that the 2022 union Budget will make no difference. The BJP at the Centre has not learnt its lessons; it will only continue to display its desperation to make-believe people of the States which have polls coming soon. Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Goa, Uttarakhand and Punjab are up for polls and the Government of India will once again use union Budget as its election manifesto.
Telangana has not got a national status for a single irrigation project; it has not got a GIFT City or Railway University like Gujarat, not a single Medical College out of 157 announced by the GoI, no defence corridor like UP, no mega textile park. Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao has written numerous letters, personally met Prime Minister, union Ministers but our requests remain unresolved.
Minister KT Rama Rao has persistently followed up on several requests dozens of times, yet Telangana remains invisible in the union Budgets. There is no hope that sense will prevail with those in power in the Government of India, who have shown no affection towards Telangana in the last eight years. One can only conclude in BJP’s own language that the union Budget 2022 will be another ‘Jumla’.
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