Mumbai: Congress' Nana Patole Accuses Centre Of Discrimination In Fund Allocation

Congress state President Nana Patole on Wednesday accused the Centre of ‘discrimination’ in the allocation of funds to the state.

Maharashtra accounts for the highest share of collection by way of GST and other taxes, but when it comes to ploughing back to the state, the Centre displays bias towards it, he said.

“After the new NDA government took office, the Centre has distributed funds to states out of which Maharashtra has been allocated only around Rs8,000 crore. In contrast, other BJP-ruled states or its allies have been allocated the lion’s share,” said Patole.

Patole said Uttar Pradesh has been given the maximum Rs25,000 crore, Madhya Pradesh Rs10,970 crore, and Bihar, led by NDA ally and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Rs14,000 crore.

“The BJP at the Centre has consistently discriminated against Maharashtra when it comes to funds allocations. Even other states ruled by the Opposition parties have been given small amounts, like Congress-headed Karnataka got Rs5,000 crore, and Aam Aadmi Party-helmed Delhi got Rs2,525 crore. However, NDA ally Andhra Pradesh headed by CM Chandrababu Naidu was given Rs5,622 crore,” Patole pointed out.

He reiterated that the money belongs to the common taxpayers and is intended for use for development activities for the masses.

Patole said that Maharashtra faced a similar predicament when the Maha Vikas Aghadi government headed by Uddhav Thackeray was in power (2019-2022).

Slamming the Mahayuti government, Patole said that Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar “lack the courage to demand more funds as deserved from the Centre”, and are content with whatever is doled out.