Delhi’s share in Central taxes remain unchanged

Step-motherly treatment to city, says CM Arvind Kejriwal

The Centre on Saturday proposed to allocate `1,116 crore to Delhi in the Union Budget, keeping the national capital’s share in central taxes unchanged and prompting chief minister Arvind Kejriwal to term it a “step-motherly” treatment to the city.

The Delhi government was given `325 crore as share in Central taxes in the 2020-21 Budget. For paying enhanced compensation to the 1984 Sikh riot victims, `10 crore has also been given to it. The same amount had been given in the 2019-20 Budget.

The Centre allocated `626 crore as Central assistance against `472 crore in the last Budget. Apart from this, the grant for the Delhi Disaster Response Fund remained unchanged with an allocation of `5 crore.

The AAP dispensation has been demanding that the share in central taxes and duties for Delhi be increased. Taking to Twitter, Mr Kejriwal said a “step-motherly” treatment has been meted out to Delhi in the Union Budget. “When Delhi doesn’t figure in BJP’s priorities, why should people vote for it?” Mr Kejriwal said.

“Delhi had high expectations from the Budget, but step-motherly treatment has been meted out to it again,” he tweeted in Hindi. The AAP national convenor asked when the BJP was “disappointing”

Delhi before the Assembly elections, scheduled on February 8, “will it fulfil its promises after the polls?”

Earlier in the day, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia alleged the BJP-led central government has done the “biggest injustice” to the people of Delhi. He said the central government has allotted `325 crore to the Delhi government as Central taxes share in the Budget, which is the same since 2001.