‘Follow MK Stalin’: DMK MP’s advice to PM Narendra Modi

DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran on Wednesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi must follow Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and work for people who didn’t vote for him.

The attack came after the Opposition alleged that the Budget had announcements only for states ruled by BJP’s allies.

“I think the time has come for the PM to take some good advice from and follow our CM MK Stalin. When MK Stalin became the CM of Tamil Nadu, he said – I will work not only for the people who voted for me but also for the people who did not vote for me, it is my duty. Today, the PM is not working for the people who voted for his party but only for the parties which are supporting him,” Maran said, reported ANI.

Earlier, the INDIA bloc parties, led by the Congress, staged a walkout from the Rajya Sabha, claiming all states except two were “ignored” by the government in the Budget.

Leader of Opposition and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the Union Budget for 2024-25 (April 2024 to March 2025) fiscal year provided funds and schemes for only two states – Bihar and Andhra Pradesh.

All other states did not find any mention, he said, terming the budget a “kursi-bachao” document.

Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday announced budgetary allocations for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, where two of the BJP’s key allies – JDU and TDP – rule.

Sitharaman announced ₹60,000 crore for Bihar and pledged support to get ₹15,000 crore in assistance from multilateral agencies for the southern state. Both states had been pressing the government to accord them the special status.

Sitharamanm today said all the states never found a mention in any of the previous Budgets, including those presented by the Congress.

She said that BJP-ruled Maharashtra wasn’t named in the budget as well. She said that did not prevent the Union Cabinet from approving the ₹76,000-crore Vadhavan port project in Dahanu.

“Did Maharashtra get ignored because I did not mention the name of Maharashtra? (An amount of) ₹76,000 crore has been announced for that project,” she said.