New Delhi: Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday said that enough announcements have been made for the poll-bound states in Union Budget 2026 when asked that they
were not in focus in her policy announcements.
Addressing a press conference after Finance Minister concluded her Budget speech in the Parliament, Sitharaman was asked why nothing was announced for the poll-bound states -- like West Bengal, Assam, or Tamil Nadu -- as she tabled the budget in the Lok Sabha. She said that there is enough for those states and also for the non-poll-bound states as well.
Union Budget 2026 Live Updates
In her budget speech, Sitharaman proposed seven high-speed rail corridors, including one between Varanasi and Siliguri (West Bengal), and said the government will establish new dedicated freight corridors connecting Bengal's Dangkuni in the east to Gujarat's Surat in the west.
Sitharaman said the government has chosen the path of reforms over rhetoric. Presenting the Budget for 2026-27, she said India will continue to take steps towards becoming a Viksit Bharat.
Check What's New For Income Tax in Budget 2026
The finance minister also laid the 16th Finance Commission report for tax revenue devolution between the Centre and states for 2026-2031.
This Union Budget is Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's 9th consecutive Budget.
This takes Sitharaman closer to the record of 10 budgets that were presented by former Prime Minister Morarji Desai over different time periods.
Mamata Banerjee Claims Nothing For West Bengal in Budget 2026
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee a while ago accused the Centre of not releasing funds for the state after Nirmala Sitharaman announced Budget 2026.
Banerjee accused the central government of spreading "blatant lies." She slammed the Centre over the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
She said, "They announced three corridors, we have already announced six. What they said about the three corridors is absolutely garbage (full) of lies. Blatant lies. It is already in process, and we have started working there. In the Jangalmahal Jangal Sundari project in Purulia, for this economic corridor, Rs 72,000 Crores are going to be invested. They have not given a single paisa to Bengal. Only one tax is there, GST."
Mamata Accuses Centre of Taking State's Money
Mamata said that they (Centre) are taking away our money and saying big things that they are giving us money. It is our money. So, they don't have any moral authority to run the government and finish the country like this. They want to destroy the economic structure of the country, the Constitutional structure of this country, and the independent agencies. They talk too much but do less work.
Speaking to reporters outside the Parliament, TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee slammed the government, accusing the Finance Minister of not mentioning the state in the Budget Speech and calling it a "visionless" budget.
He said, "In 5001 seconds, Bengal was not even named once. Be it a farmer or a youth... the government talks about AI and technology, but there is no discussion on employment. There is no financial security or way to stabilise the income. This is a faceless, baseless and visionless budget. To me, the budget is like a self-appraisal report written by its PR department. This budget does not have any concrete solutions to offer to any community. Centre looks at Bengal as Bangladesh."
West Bengal To Go For Assembly Elections In A Few Months
As West Bengal is set to hold the Legislative Assembly elections later this year, Sitharaman today announced, "To promote environmentally sustainable movement of cargo, I propose to establish new Dedicated Freight Corridors connecting Dankuni in the East, to Surat in the West."
"In order to promote environmentally sustainable passenger systems, we will develop seven high-speed rail corridors between cities as growth connectors, namely Mumbai to Pune, Pune to Hyderabad, Hyderabad to Bengaluru, Hyderabad to Chennai, and Chennai to Bengaluru. Delhi to Varanasi, Varanasi to Siliguri," the FM said.
With inputs from PTI
