Union budget huge disappointment: TN CM
Chennai (PTI): Hitting out at the Centre for ignoring Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister M K Stalin on Sunday said that the Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was a huge disappointment to the state.
The interests of Tamil Nadu have been completely ignored and the budget has got nothing for the poor, women, farmers and the marginalised, he said.
"As Tamil Nadu gears for the assembly elections, we expected at least this year that the state would be visible to the eyes of the Union BJP government and our voices will be heard by them. However, this year too, the BJP government has delivered only disappointment," he said in a statement here.
He charged that the demand from various states, including Tamil Nadu to increase the states' share of total tax revenue from 41 per cent to 50 per cent was "ignored" once again.
"The announcement that devolution will remain at 41 per cent is disappointing," he said.
Stalin said that despite the 16th Finance Commission attempts to recognise the contribution of states towards India's economic growth, it is distressing that Tamil Nadu being the second largest economy, receives a lower percentage of financial devolution.
"It appears that the tax devolution for Tamil Nadu will remain at a meager 4.097 per cent for the next 5 years," he said, and added as per estimates it would lead to a financial loss of about Rs 5,000 crore every year.
While noting that the state revenues have been affected by the restructuring of the Goods and Services Tax, it is condemnable that Tamil Nadu's share of Union taxes has been reduced by about Rs 1,200 crore this year, he said.
On the Jal Jeevan Mission, the chief minister said the state government has been insisting the Centre for release of Rs 3,112 crore under the project. But in the budget allocation for this scheme which was at Rs 67,000 crore in 2025-26 budget estimates has been reduced to Rs 17,000 crore in the revised estimates. "This looks like an attempt to completely stall the project", he remarked.
Pointing to the Centre's Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, the rural road connectivity scheme, Stalin said an allocation of Rs 19,000 crore was announced in the previous budget. Now, it has been allocated only Rs 11,000 crore in the revised estimates, he said.
Similarly, he said the allocation under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Gramin) scheme has been reduced from the earlier announced Rs 35,832 crore to Rs 32,500 crore.
"The biggest disappointment is the PM Internship scheme which was announced amid fanfare last year with an allocation of Rs 10,831 crore. The funding has been slashed to just Rs 526 crore indicating that the scheme has received poor response", he claimed.
The chief minister while noting that the government was eagerly expecting projects for the welfare of Tamil Nadu will be included in the budget, there was no mention of new projects. "The lack of new projects has showcased that the Union Government continues to treat Tamil Nadu with a step-motherly attitude", he said.
Referring to the customary of using 'Thirukkural' verse while presenting the budget speech by the finance minister, Stalin said it was absent this time. "Budget did not have any important projects for Tamil Nadu also. In total, it is a disappointment", he said.
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Congress demands PM Modi to come clean on 'disclosures' on him made in Epstein files
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Sunday demanded answers from Narendra Modi following “disclosures” in the Epstein files in the US that some “monsters” had access to him, and said the prime minister should come clean on the issue.
Congress general secretary in charge of organisation, K C Venugopal, said in a post on X, "The reports of the new batch of Epstein Files are a huge wake-up call about the kind of monsters who have access to PM Modi, and how susceptible he is to foreign manipulation.
"The Congress demands that the prime minister personally come clean on these disturbing disclosures that raise serious questions.”
“Has he met Jeffrey Epstein? Or did he send someone to meet him? What did his conversations with Epstein involve,” the Congress leader asked.
The Epstein files are thousands of pages of documents related to two criminal investigations into sex trafficking by financier Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, including travel logs, recordings, and emails, which have been a topic of conversation since Epstein died in custody in 2019.
Venugopal claimed equally concerning was a report that while India’s foreign policy was changing dramatically, Prime Minister Modi was “dancing and singing” to the tunes of “tainted” individuals like Epstein to “benefit foreign powers”.
“People of India deserve an answer,” Venugopal said.
Congress general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, said, "The prime minister himself must clarify.”
Congress leader Pawan Khera also asked whether Modi was in touch with a "disgraceful" American such as Epstein right around the 2019 elections.
On Saturday, the BJP accused the Congress of spreading misinformation against Prime Minister Modi by "twisting" a generic email fragment of investigative files related to Jeffrey Epstein into a political smear, asserting that there is "zero evidence" of any direct or indirect interaction between the two.
The Ministry of External Affairs strongly rejected a reference to Modi in the investigative files related to Epstein, describing it as "little more than trashy ruminations by a convicted criminal" that deserves to be dismissed with the "utmost contempt".
