New Delhi: The Rajya Sabha on July 24 witnessed a heated exchange between Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders over the alleged neglect of West Bengal in the Union Budget and the issue of central funds. Nirmala Sitharaman rebuked TMC’s claims, stating Bengal has not implemented many central schemes over the last decade and now questions her.
TMC criticized the budget for ignoring opposition-ruled states like West Bengal, Telangana, and Punjab, calling it the ‘Andhra-Bihar Budget.’ TMC leaders, including Sushmita Dev and Abhishek Banerjee, took to social media to voice their discontent, highlighting Bengal’s unpaid dues of Rs 1.6 lakh crore and accusing the government of overlooking unemployment and inflation.
Nirmala Sitharaman countered, stating that the omission of specific states in her speech does not imply they will be deprived of funds, accusing the opposition of misleading the public. Significant allocations were made for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh in the budget.
 leaders over the alleged neglect of West Bengal in the Union Budget and the issue of central funds.){kind=link}