From Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI, July 24: VPP MP from Shillong Ricky AJ Syngkon has sharply criticised the central government for what he termed as a “peanut” budget allocation to the Northeastern region, which comprises the largest block of eight states in the country.
In a hard-hitting statement, the MP said that the budget allocation for Northeast was minimal. He was referring to the increased branches of postal banks in the region announced by the Union Finance Minister in her budget speech on Tuesday.
“The budget was a reward to the states of Bihar and Andhra Pradesh for supporting BJP,” he quipped. He was referring to the better share in budget to the alliance partners of BJP, JD(U) in Bihar and TDP in Andhra Pradesh without whose help the NDA could not have come to power.
Nothing was announced for infrastructure development or human development including education, environment, health, youth and sports. There is nothing mentioned in the budget presentation, Ricky said. On the other hand, these are the key sectors in the landlocked remote and backward region, he pointed out.
The Northeast region is one of the most backward and underdeveloped regions of the country with rich factor endowments and biodiversity hotspot which should have been given due importance, the MP said. “I hope the government acts responsibly by doing, giving and caring for the people of the Northeast and not a step motherly treatment,” he added.