Union Budget “Neglects Tamil Nadu’s Minister for Natural Resources S. Regupathy on Monday criticised the Union Budget 2026–27, alleging that the BJP-led Central government has once again overlooked the state’s needs and failed to prioritise its development. In a statement shared on social media, Regupathy said the Budget does not contain any meaningful support for Tamil Nadu — even though the state is headed for assembly elections. Regupathy accused the Centre of deliberately ignoring Tamil Nadu in the Budget, saying that despite the state’s significant contributions to the national economy, there were no special projects or substantial allocations for Tamil Nadu. He claimed that the Budget includes only trivial items such as trekking facilities and bird-watching towers — which he described as insufficient and symbolic gestures unrelated to core development needs.
The minister also alleged that the ruling party at the Centre has reduced Tamil Nadu’s share in central tax revenue, which he said would lead to an annual shortfall of around ₹5,000 crore for the state’s finances. Regupathy highlighted that the longstanding demand to increase the states’ share of central taxes from 41% to 50% was rejected again in this year’s Budget.
In addition, he pointed out that funds pending release under key programmes were not mentioned in the Budget, including ₹3,548 crore under the Samagra Shiksha scheme and ₹3,112 crore for the Jal Jeevan Mission. Regupathy said the Centre’s failure to clear these would hurt essential services and infrastructure in Tamil Nadu.
Regupathy’s criticism reflects broader statewide disappointment with the Union Budget. Other leaders from Tamil Nadu parties have similarly expressed frustration that the Budget did not include major infrastructure projects like the Coimbatore and Madurai Metro Rail and that the state’s core demands were not addressed.
He also suggested that the Centre’s decision to sideline Tamil Nadu may be politically motivated, alleging that the BJP has ignored the state because it believes it cannot secure electoral victory there in the upcoming polls.