The Communist Party of India (CPI) strongly criticized the Union Budget 2026, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday. CPI national council member J.V. Satyanarayana Murthy said the budget once again failed to do justice to Andhra Pradesh. "No funds were allocated for the South Coast Railway (SCoR) Zone," he said. CPI leaders and activists held a protest outside Visakhapatnam railway station on Sunday. Murthy added that the budget made no mention of when the Visakhapatnam-based SCoR Zone would become operational. The long-standing demand for overnight trains from Visakhapatnam to Bengaluru, Chennai, and Tirupati was also ignored. Murthy further alleged a lack of clarity on the funding for the Polavaram project. He pointed out that the budget did not announce any allocation of funds for developing North Andhra’s backward regions. He called the budget "pro-corporates" and "anti-people." The protest saw participation from CPI State secretariat member A. Vimala and party leaders M. Pydiraju and SK Rehaman.