Pranab Mukherjee lets Mumbai fight its own battles

Mumbai: Did Mumbai get a raw deal in the budget 2010-11? The country’s financial capital, many in the state’s power circles feel, did not get the attention it deserves in Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee’s budget.

While chief minister Ashok Chavan has lauded the budget for its emphasis on social and agriculture sectors, several elected members in the ruling Congress-NCP combine are at loss to figure out why Mumbai fell off the finance minister’s radar this time.
Former finance minister P Chidambaram dreamt of transforming Mumbai into a international financial centre and always gave special treatment to the city, said an NCP cabinet minister.

“Pranabda seems to have overlooked the complex problems which make Mumbai a candidate for separate treatment,” he added.