Bhopal, February 18 – Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Kamal Nath, criticised the BJP-led state government's budget for 2026-27, presented by Deputy Chief Minister Jagdish Devda in the Assembly on Wednesday.
Senior BJP leader Devda, who has been heading the state's finance department for several years, presented a budget for 2026-27 with a total outlay of Rs 4,38,317 crore. He presented the budget amidst interruptions from the Opposition, which raised concerns over the "mounting debt" burden on the people of the state.
Former CM Kamal Nath responded to the state budget, describing it as "mere words" and completely "ignoring" any public interest concerns. Pointing to key promises made by the BJP in its election manifesto in the 2023 Assembly elections, the Congress leader alleged that the people of Madhya Pradesh were once again betrayed.
"The key promises made by the BJP to the people and voters of Madhya Pradesh before the November 2023 Assembly elections were missing from the Finance Minister's budget speech. This budget is against the people, and the BJP government has betrayed the people of the state. The people of Madhya Pradesh are deeply disappointed by this budget," Kamal Nath said in a statement.
Furthermore, Kamal Nath also pointed out why the finance minister Devda did not clarify that the announcements made in the previous budget were not fulfilled.
He said that the budget speech also did not clarify the government's strategy regarding the Rs 50,000 crore reduction in the share of taxes received from the central government over the next five years.
"Considering these various aspects, it is clear that the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh is not keeping the interests of the state's people in mind and, as a puppet of the central government, has mortgaged the state's interests to the central government," Kamal Nath said.
Earlier, chairing the cabinet meeting, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said the 2026-27 budget is historic in many aspects and a model of the resolve to move forward step by step, taking everyone along.
"This budget is dedicated to the welfare of the poor, youth, farmers and women as well as the expansion of industrial activities," Yadav said.
