Cuts in funding for ministries under Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in the recently presented budget have sparked internal unrest within the Mahayuti alliance.
Several Shiv Sena ministers have voiced their discontent, alleging biased treatment toward their party’s departments. They are now planning to meet Shinde to express their dissatisfaction. The urban development department, which is under Shinde, has faced a budget cut of Rs10,000 crore. This reduction in funding will delay ongoing development projects due to a lack of resources and make it impossible to initiate new infrastructure projects in cities.
Shiv Sena’s social justice minister, Sanjay Shirsat, has publicly expressed his dissatisfaction with the budget allocations.
Shirsat stated that the ‘Ladki Bahin Yojana’ is a good scheme and should be funded. However, he raised concerns about the cuts made to the social justice and tribal affairs departments. He stressed that, in line with constitutional mandates, funding for these departments should not be curtailed. According to him, the total cuts amount to approximately Rs7,000 crore, which includes Rs4,000 crore for the ‘Ladki Bahin Yojana,’ Rs1,500 crore for the PM’s housing scheme, and Rs1,400 crore for the energy department.
Shirsat highlighted that the social justice and tribal affairs departments work to support marginalised communities, and reducing their funding would stop their progress.
He warn that if the cuts continue, it could lead to dissatisfaction. He also mentioned he would write to the Fadnavis and Pawar asking them not to reduce the funds for these departments. Additionally, he said that any cuts to his department should have required prior approval, which was not requested, and the law requires such approval.
There has been noticeable unrest within the Mahayuti in recent days. After being sidelined from the CM position, there are discussions suggesting that Shinde is being marginalised within the government. Recently, there has also been talk of a growing rift between Fadnavis and Shinde. This has raised the question of whether these developments are a result of that.
