Whichever party may be in power at the Centre, the union finance minister consults finance ministers of respective States before drafting Union Budget to know what they are expecting from the Budget and what are their demands and requests.

This has been the tradition in India since Independence. But for the first time, union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman held meeting with Telangana BJP leaders on Sunday (today) to know what they need for Telangana in the Budget.

Telangana BJP leaders used this opportunity to their advantage and requested Nirmala Sitharaman to sanction a Tribal University, Indian Institute of Management (IIM), bullet train from Hyderabad to Vizag via Vijayawada and more funds for development of Telangana in Budget.

If approved and these Telangana BJP leaders request figure in the upcoming Union Budget 2022-23, then it will give a shot in the arm for Telangana BJP, which is trying to emerge as an alternative to TRS in 2023 Assembly polls. BJP leaders project them as their achievement even though the TRS has been making these demands and requests for long.

Nirmala’s meeting with Telangana BJP leaders on Union Budget naturally shocked TRS. The TRS leaders are angry at Nirmala for consulting the Opposition party in Telangana instead of consulting ruling party TRS on what are Telangana’s needs and requests in the Union Budget.

TRS leadership is angry at BJP ‘politicising’ even Union Budget to corner TRS in Telangana.