Mumbai, Feb 1 (PTI) Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Saturday said there was no mention of Maharashtra which contributes the highest tax revenue in the budget speech, which was an insult to the state.

In a post on X, Thackeray also expressed disappointment about the budget being silent on the demand of a new airport for Pune, and claimed that the BJP government has always neglected Maharashtra since 2014.

While the Bharatiya Janata Party speaks of infrastructure growth, it is actually creating a contractor-based economy where favourite contractors get contracts and construct "horrible" roads like Mumbai-Goa, Mumbai-Nashik and Mumbai- Ahmedabad highways, Thackeray said.

The BJP spoke of abolition of income tax between 2012 to 2014, and now its government is becoming more liberal and "negotiating" with tax payers on slabs and rebates but with a lot of conditions and hidden clauses, he said.

This was due to the power of citizens that brought the saffron party's Lok Sabha tally down to 240 after it had taken the country for granted, Thackeray said, referring to the income tax cuts in the budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

But it did not deal with the issue of unemployment which is at its peak, the Sena (UBT) leader said.

"Not a single mention of Maharashtra is an outright insult to the state of Maharashtra, the state that contributes the highest taxes, including one of the highest GST consistently," Thackeray said in his reaction.

The state doesn't get its due share of Goods and Services Tax in time, nor does it get funds for development, he said, accusing the BJP of "consistently neglecting" Maharashtra in all the budgets since 2014.

"Are we getting punished for electing the BJP's 100-plus MLAs in all three state elections (from 2014 to 2024)? What is our sin that we are treated so badly by the BJP and its Union government?" the former state minister asked.

He was very happy for Bihar, Thackeray quipped.

"I am hoping the state (Bihar) has already got the Rs 1.25 lakh crore package promised by BJP in 2015, and then the big package the BJP promised in 2024.

"I wonder if the current announcements truly fulfil the needs of the people of Bihar, and if this is not a deviation from the ideology of the need for one nation, one poll, by the party that proposed it," he added.

While the finance minister spoke about investment in 120 new airports and mentioned Patna airport, the budget was silent about the long-pending demand of a new airport for Pune even though Pune MP Murlidhar Mohol is the Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Thackeray noted.

He also sought to know about the airports which were `started and shut down' in the last ten years.

The capital expenditure of Rs 11.1 lakh crore was proposed in the last year's budget but Rs 10.1 lakh crore were actually spent, and now the Narendra Modi government has proposed a capex of Rs 11.21 lakh crore, the Sena (UBT) leader said.

The people still face inflation when they buy staples like onion, tomato and potato, and what solution the government was proposing to make these items affordable without reducing farmers' incomes, he asked. PTI PR KRK

Fiscal neglect: Union budget's silence on Maharashtra and Pune airport highlights alleged regional funding and infrastructure bias. Aaditya Thackeray says the Union budget's failure to mention Maharashtra is an outright insult to a state that supplies the highest tax and GST revenues, alleging consistent neglect since 2014, delayed GST transfers and insufficient development funds. He notes the budget's silence on a new Pune airport despite relevant ministerial representation, questions airports that were initiated then closed, and criticises infrastructure policy as creating a contractor based economy and the budget's lack of measures addressing unemployment and affordable staples without harming farmers' incomes.