New Delhi: Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy announced his decision to boycott the NITI Aayog meeting, which is scheduled for July 27. This decision comes as protest against Union Budget 2024, which he claimed has unfairly denied Telangana its due funds and infringed upon its rights.He said, The Prime Minister is the chairman of NITI Aayog. The meeting will be held on July 27 under his leadership. As the Chief Minister of Telangana, I am boycotting the NITI Aayog meeting for hurting Telanganas interests, not releasing the funds due to Telangana, and for not granting the necessary permissions for the state.Telangana assemblys responseThe Telangana Assembly recently passed a resolution criticizing the central governments alleged unfair treatment of the state in the Union Budget. This resolution followed a day-long debate and was opposed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).Opposition boycott NITI Ayog meetingThe boycott is not limited to Telangana. Congress general secretary K C Venugopal announced that all Congress chief ministers—Karnatakas Siddaramaiah, Telanganas Revanth Reddy, and Himachal Pradeshs Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu—will skip the NITI Aayog meeting. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin also decided to boycott the meeting, protesting against what he termed a discriminatory budget.Union Ministers responseUnion Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal criticized the oppositions decision. He said, I think due to their personal thinking of hatred towards PM Modi, they dont think about their own people. Be it Telangana, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu—eight states boycotted last years NITI Aayog meeting, which was centered around Viksit Bharat. They only talk about democracy by having the Constitution in hand they do drama but dont believe in democracy. They are arrogant about their family names. Misguided by the Congress party, the parties in the INDI alliance are trying to demolish the democratic system.Protests in ParliamentOn Wednesday, MPs from the INDIA bloc staged a protest at Parliament, claiming that the Union Budget unfairly targets states led by opposition parties. Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition, described the budget as an assault on the sanctity of Indias federal structure.
