Let Me Explain: Boost for Bihar in budget and why southern states feel sidelined again

The 2025-2026 union budget has reignited the debate about southern states not getting their fair share. 

DMK leader Kanimozhi made an interesting comment after finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the budget on February 1. The Thoothukudi MP said that this was the first time she sat in that Parliament for the “Bihar state budget”. 

Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah said the union budget gave the state a “khaali chombu”, a big zero. “Should Karnataka just eat peanuts?” his colleague and revenue minister Krishna Byre Gowda asked. 

Tamil Nadu CM Stalin questioned why the financial statement is even called a union budget if schemes are announced only for poll-bound states governed by the BJP and its allies. 

A BJP minister even suggested declaring Kerala “backward” for the state to get a bigger share of the budget pie.

In this week’s Let Me Explain, Pooja Prasanna takes a look at how the NDA’s first full-year budget of this term fell short, and why southern states are alleging discrimination in funds allocation.

We have a new Sena project that explores attempts in India to establish a ‘Hindu state’. Our reporters are heading to Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, and your contribution can help them on their way. Click here to contribute to The Hindu Rashtra Project