In a show of defiance against the Union Budget's disregard for their states' requests, four chief ministers declared on Tuesday that they will not be attending the NITI Aayog meeting, which will be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 27.
Chief Minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah said it would be useless to attend the NITI Aayog meeting since he believes the problems of Kannadigas have not been addressed.
"Despite my earnest efforts in calling for an all-party MPs meeting in New Delhi to discuss Karnataka's essential needs, the Union Budget has neglected our state's demands," Siddaramaiah said.
"Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who also attended the meeting, has ignored the concerns of the people of Karnataka. We don't feel that Kannadigas are heard, and hence there is no point in attending the NITI Aayog meeting," he posted on social media platform X.
He said, "PM Modi is unable to see states other than Andhra Pradesh and Bihar because his eyes are on the position of Prime Minister. His agenda is exposed in front of the people. We hope the people of our state stand with us in our fight for justice.”
At a news conference on Tuesday night, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin also declared that his administration will not be attending the NITI Aayog meeting. Stalin expressed extreme dissatisfaction with the central government's fiscal policies and budget allocations, calling the budget the "biggest betrayal" for Tamil Nadu, the New Indian Express reported.
He claimed these allocations have “repeatedly overlooked the needs and demands of Tamil Nadu.”
Stalin also emphasised the minimal increase in financing for vital industries including agriculture, health, and education, calling it "worrisome given the state's current needs." The leader of the DMK also slammed the budget for failing to address problems that he claimed were "severely affecting the common people," such as inflation and unemployment.
Additionally, Stalin announced that DMK MPs would protest in Delhi on Wednesday. To maintain the stability of the NDA government, Stalin charged that the BJP was announcing initiatives selectively to placate a few regional parties.
"Schemes were introduced for certain states to placate a few regional parties that helped transform a ‘minority BJP’ into a ‘majority BJP’," he said.
Two other Congress chief ministers, Revanth Reddy of Telangana and Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu of Himachal Pradesh have declared their intention to stay away from the meeting.
Congress general secretary K C Venugopal, in a social media post, wrote, “The Union Budget presented today was extremely discriminatory and dangerous, which completely goes against the principles of federalism and fairness that the Union Government must follow. In protest, INC CMs will be boycotting the NITI Aayog meeting. This government’s attitude is completely antithetical to Constitutional principles. We will not participate in an event that is solely designed to hide the true, discriminatory colours of this regime.”