Telangana CM Revanth Reddy to boycott NITI Aayog Meeting in protest against Budget

Karnataka’s Siddaramaiah, Telangana’s Revanth Reddy, and Himachal Pradesh’s Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, all Congress chief ministers, will boycott the NITI Aayog meeting on July 27. Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy announced that his government will skip the meeting to protest against the central government’s alleged denial of funds and infringement on state rights. Reddy criticized the central government for not releasing funds due to Telangana and for not granting necessary permissions.

Opposition protests against Central Government

The Telangana Assembly passed a resolution criticizing the central government for allegedly treating the state unfairly in the Union Budget. The BJP opposed this resolution. Congress general secretary K C Venugopal confirmed that all Congress CMs would boycott the NITI Aayog meeting. Additionally, Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin will also skip the meeting to protest the “discriminatory” budget.

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Union Minister Piyush Goyal attacked the opposition for their boycott, accusing them of personal hatred towards PM Modi and ignoring their people's needs. He claimed that opposition parties, influenced by the Congress party, are trying to undermine the democratic system. 

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On Wednesday, MPs from the INDIA bloc protested at Parliament, arguing that the Union Budget unfairly targets states led by opposition parties. Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition, described the budget as an "assault on India's federal structure." Joining him in protest were Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress Parliamentary Party chief Sonia Gandhi, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, and MPs from Congress, TMC, Samajwadi Party, DMK, and the Left.