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Bhubaneswar:<\/strong> The Union Budget 2024-25, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, has sparked strong criticism from Odisha\u2019s opposition parties, with both the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Congress terming it \u201cdisappointing\u201d and \u201canti-Odisha.\u201d<\/p>\n Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik accused the BJP of failing to fulfil its manifesto promise of granting special category status to Odisha. He pointed out that while special packages and funds were announced for Andhra Pradesh and Bihar Odisha\u2019s demands were overlooked. Patnaik also raised concerns about the allocation of additional funds for the Polavaram project, stating that it shows impartiality against Odisha\u2019s interests.<\/p>\n The Polavaram irrigation project emerged as a major point of contention. Finance Minister Sitharaman\u2019s commitment to financing and completing the project drew sharp criticism from Odisha\u2019s opposition, who view it as detrimental to the state\u2019s interests.<\/p>\n In protest, all BJD MPs walked out of the Rajya Sabha during the budget presentation. Dr Sasmit Patra, BJD National Spokesperson, stated, \u201cWe term the Budget completely anti-Odisha and there is nothing for Odisha in this Budget.\u201d He suggested that the neglect might be a \u201cpunishment\u201d for Odisha electing 20 BJP MPs out of 21 in the last election.<\/p>\n BJD leader Prasanna Acharya called the decision \u201cpartisan,\u201d suggesting that the Union government was prioritizing its political allies over Odisha\u2019s concerns. He reminded that the state government and BJD members had repeatedly raised concerns about the project in the past.<\/p>\n Congress MP Saptagiri Ulaka expressed disappointment, highlighting the budget\u2019s perceived lack of focus on unemployment, inflation control, and fiscal deficit. He noted that Odisha had been \u201ctaken for granted,\u201d with only assistance in the tourism sector announced for the state.<\/p>\n Congress leader Sofia Firdous alleged that the Polavaram project would lead to the submergence of several villages in Odisha and displace thousands of people, accusing the BJP government of betraying the state\u2019s residents.<\/p>\n Former OPCC President Niranjan Patnaik echoed these sentiments, questioning how Odisha\u2019s future would be shaped without proper allocations, despite the state\u2019s support for the BJP in previous elections.<\/p>\n In defence of the budget, Union Minister Jual Oram described it as \u201cpro-people,\u201d emphasizing its focus on women, youth, and farmers. He highlighted the launch of the Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan, aimed at improving socio-economic conditions for tribal communities across 63,000 villages.<\/p>\n Finance Minister Sitharaman mentioned Odisha twice in her speech, promising assistance for tourism development and including the state in the \u2018Purvodaya\u2019 plan for the all-round development of the eastern region. However, these mentions did little to assuage the concerns of the opposition.<\/p>\n Also Read:\u00a0Naveen Patnaik Terms Union Budget 2024 \u2018Disappointing\u2019 for Odisha, Says \u201cNothing Substantial over Years\u2026\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Also Read:\u00a0Union Budget 2024 Spotlights Odisha\u2019s Tourism Potential Under \u2018Purvodaya\u2019 Scheme<\/strong><\/p>\n Also Read:\u00a0Budget is a Boost for Odisha Focusing Tourism Development: CM Mohan Majhi<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n [ad_2] [ad_1] Bhubaneswar: The Union Budget 2024-25, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, has sparked strong criticism from Odisha\u2019s opposition parties, with both the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Congress terming it \u201cdisappointing\u201d and \u201canti-Odisha.\u201d Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik accused the BJP of failing to fulfil its manifesto promise of granting special category status to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36530,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-states"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/thenftimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/budget-24-opposition.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenftimes.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenftimes.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenftimes.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenftimes.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenftimes.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36529"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thenftimes.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36529\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36531,"href":"https:\/\/thenftimes.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36529\/revisions\/36531"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenftimes.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36530"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenftimes.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenftimes.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenftimes.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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