After being denied special status by the Centre, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Punjab government 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.
"This budget is status quo for health concerns, with only two silver linings: customs duty exemptions on diagnostics and cancer drugs. The economy has moved from USD 3.4 trillion to USD 4 trillion," said Dr Asokan.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered that the status quo be maintained at the Shambhu border near Ambala, where farmers have been camping since February 13.
"BJP had put special category status in their manifesto as a promise to the people of Odisha. However, this promise had not been considered for Odisha whereas special packages allocating crores of funds have been announced for Andhra Pradesh and Bihar," Patnaik said.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made major announcements for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday, including a boost in infrastructure and special financial support.
Independent Member of Lok Sabha from Bihar, Pappu Yadav, has criticised the announcements made for Bihar in the Union Budget 2024, questioning the promises of job creation and addressing migration issues from the state.
BJP MLA from Katihar, Tarkishore Prasad, has countered the INDIA bloc leaders' protests regarding the demand for special status for Bihar, emphasizing the extensive reforms announced in the Union Budget 2024-25 for the state.
Union Minister and BJP leader Giriraj Singh on Monday questioned why RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav did not pursue Special Category Status for Bihar when he was an ally of Congress and both parties were in power.
As the BJP's key ally in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), JD (U) demanded a special status category for Bihar, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, in a written reply, said that special status cannot granted to Bihar as per the Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) report 2012.
"Three important announcements are needed for farmer welfare in the budget - 1. Legal status to MSP 2. MSP is decided on the basis of Swaminathan formula 3. Loan waiver for farmers," Ramesh said in a post on 'X'.
"Heavy rains in Mumbai are affecting flight operations and resulting in the cancellation and diversion of some of our flights. Air India is offering full refunds or a one-time complimentary rescheduling for bookings confirmed for travel on July 21, 2024. Please check flight status before hea