Tharoor said that there was nothing in the announcement about how to address the income inequality of the country….reports Asian Lite News
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday criticised the Central government over the Union Budget, saying that there was very “little to cheer about” in the Budget as it has failed to address the issues of common people and only the two states of Bihar and Andhra Pradesh gained and other states did not.
“I am afraid it is an underwhelming Budget. I would say there has very been little to cheer about the Budget,” the Congress MP told media persons after the Budget speech was over.
He said that the government had simply not addressed a number of key issues.
“MGNREGA wasn’t even mentioned. Health and education showed no indication of any increase in the share of GDP allocated to these vital subjects,” the Congress MP said.
He said that there was nothing in the announcement about how to address the income inequality of the country.
“More than 60 per cent of our people have seen their incomes dropping in the last 10 years. What has the government done about it? Very little,” Tharoor said.
He said that even the share markets and the common people have reacted badly to the Budget.
“Only the people of Bihar and Andhra Pradesh have something in it, where they have their government. There are political reasons to satisfy the people of two states but there are 26 other states in the country where people have no reason to be happy,” the Congress MP said.
Earlier, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman laid out nine priorities of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, with a focus on employment, skilling, agriculture and manufacturing.
These are: Agriculture, employment, inclusive development, manufacturing and services, urban development, energy, infrastructure, innovation R&D and next-generation reforms.
The Finance Minister also announced a reduction in customs duty on mobile phones and mobile chargers to 15 per cent.
Other products that are set to become cheaper include mobile phones, imported gold, silver, leather goods and seafood.
The reduction in duties on gold and silver by 6 per cent will significantly give a fillip to retail demand.
For the salaried class, the Finance Minister announced tax sops for over four crore salaried individuals.
This Budget is an attempt to save NDA govt: Shivakumar
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Tuesday said that the Budget presented by the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is an attempt to ‘save’ the NDA government.
“This budget by Nirmala Sitharaman is an attempt to save the NDA government at the Centre. It focuses solely on appeasing its crucial alliance partners from Bihar and Andhra Pradesh,” the Deputy Chief Minister told media persons at Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru.
He said that the Budget has ignored states ruled by the INDIA bloc.
“I had pinned high hopes on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The world is looking at India. Karnataka and Bengaluru have created a name for themselves on the global stage,” the Deputy Chief Minister said.
He said that he was hopeful that Nirmala Sitharaman, who represents Karnataka, would protect the interests of the state by allocating funds for infrastructure development and for pending projects.
“But nothing was been done by her for the state,” the Deputy Chief Minister said.
This Budget is only for corporate sector: RJD
Patna, July 23 (IANS) Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) on Tuesday criticised the Central government over the Budget, saying allocating Rs 26, 000 crore to Bihar is not for the common people but for the corporate sector.
“This budget is only for the corporate sector. The Finance Minister has not provided any idea of how the Centre would create jobs for unemployed youth. She has not addressed the issues of youth, farmers, women, and labourers in her budget speech,” said Bhai Virendra, the four-time RJD MLA from the Maner assembly constituency.
Earlier, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman allocated Rs 26,000 crore for various infrastructural projects for the state.
Bhai Virendra said that similar projects have also been announced by previous governments as well. “Bihar needs special category status, which the Central government has denied,” he said.
Former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi said the Central government has given Jhunjhuna (toy) to Bihar.
“This budget has nothing for the common people of Bihar,” the former Chief Minister said.
However, defending the Central government, BJP MLA Pramod Kumar said that this budget will boost the economy of Bihar through infrastructural projects.
“The Central government has given three expressway projects, a two-lane bridge at Buxar, a power station in Pirpainti, and an industrial hub in Gaya. These projects will develop Bihar, create jobs, and help stop migration,” Pramod Kumar said.
Centre took revenge for losing 11 seats in Raj via budget: Dotasra
The Rajasthan Congress on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on the Narendra Modi government, saying the Centre has taken revenge for losing 11 Lok Sabha seats in the desert state via the Union Budget 2024-25.
State Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra said the Centre has been kind to two states which are Nitish Kumar’s Bihar and Chandrababu Naidu’s Andhra Pradesh. At the same time, despite there being a BJP government in Rajasthan, nothing came for the state.
Dotasra said there is nothing in the budget for the youth, women and farmers. There was talk of relief to be given in income tax to the employees, but nothing has come. There is no vision in the budget, he added.
He said that Rajasthan is completely missing from the budget The interests of Rajasthan have been ignored. The pain of losing 11 seats in Rajasthan is reflected in this budget, he said.
He added that this is only a budget to save the government and it shows the government’s dependence on Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. “No money has been given for any scheme of Rajasthan.”
Referring to Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Dotasra said that Shekhawat was the Water Resources Minister earlier, even then he did not do anything. He was given the department of tourism but tourism has also not got anything in this budget.
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