"Why would they come if they don't want to waste their time": Shashi Tharoor on INDIA bloc boycotting NITI Aayog meet

New Delhi [India], July 26 : Defending the INDIA bloc leader's decision to boycott NITI Aayog meeting to be held today, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said that it is their right and why would they come if they don't want to waste their time.
"Three Congress CMs and a DMK CM have said that they won't come (to NITI Aayog) as there is nothing for them. So, I think it is their right. Why would they come if they don't want to waste their time," Tharoor said.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin first announced the boycott in Chennai. Following this, the Congress said its chief ministers, including Himachal Pradesh's Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, Karnataka's Siddaramaiah and Telangana's Revanth Reddy, would skip the meeting.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Punjab government, while expressing solidarity with the INDIA bloc has decided that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will not attend the Niti Aayog meeting to be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 27.
Along with Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren and Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan are also expected to give the meeting a miss.
However, as per reports, Mamata Banerjee and TMC's Derek O'Brien will attend the meeting and "strongly use the platform to hold the Union government responsible" for Bengal's legitimate dues.
Shashi Tharoor further alleged that the Centre has given favorable treatment to Bihar and Andhra Pradesh in the Union Budget 2024 to keep its coalition partners satisfied.
Notably, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made major announcements for Bihar, including a boost in infrastructure and special financial support.
Reacting to this, Tharoor said, "Yesterday, I talked about Health and Education because the budget for these two sectors has decreased. This is not a matter of politics. We also engaged in politics because we felt that the government has given very favorable treatment to two states to keep its two coalition partners satisfied."
"If my state gets what Bihar got, we will be delighted. Rs 26,000 Crores have been allotted for highways in Bihar. This is nothing small. This is good for Biharis, I am delighted for them. But look at Karnataka, the Congress government had demanded funds for highways and tunnels in Bengaluru, but they didn't get anything. So, people have a right to question. If the Minister thinks that this is just politics, then he didn't hear me," Tharoor added.
In her Budget speech in Parliament on Tuesday, Sitharaman said, "On the Amritsar-Kolkata industrial corridor we will support the development of an industrial nod at Gaya in Bihar. We will also support the construction of road connectivity projects namely Patna-Purnia Expressway, Buxar-Bagalpur Expressway, Bodhgaya-Rajgir-Vaishali-Darbanga and an additional two-lane bridge over river Ganga at Buxar at a total cost of Rs 26,000 cr."
"Power projects, including setting up of a new 2400 megawatt power plant at Pirpainti (in Bhagalpur) will be taken up at a cost of Rs 21400 crore," she added.
Andhra Pradesh was given a special focus in the Union Budget, with Sitharaman announcing special financial support to address the state's need for capital. She emphasized efforts to fulfil commitments under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, declaring an allocation of Rs 15,000 crore for the current fiscal year, with additional amounts to follow in future years.