Synopsis
Congress criticized the budget as an attempt by the BJP-led coalition to save itself, terming it anti-farmer and lacking crucial sector allocations. Opposition members from AAP, TMC, AIADMK, RJD, BJD, and YSRCP echoed similar grievances. BJP countered, highlighting benefits for small entrepreneurs and youth internship schemes.
New Delhi: Congress on Thursday said the budget is an attempt to save the BJP-led coalition government and appease allies. Terming it anti-farmer, the Opposition party hit out at the Centre for cutting allocation for crucial sectors.
Participating in the budget debate in Rajya Sabha, Congress MP Randeep Surjewala said the budget has failed to address issues of people involved in farming. “They announce MSP, but they don’t procure at MSP. Under BJP and Modi-led government, MSP has become maximum suffering for farmers,” he said.
Citing examples, he said the government procured 187.92 lakh tonnes of wheat in 2022-23 marketing year as against production of 1,068 lakh tonnes, which is just 18%.
AAP member Sanjay Singh accused the government of cutting allocation for defence, agriculture, health and energy as well as jail. He urged the government to at least increase the grant for jail because the “next turn is going to be for the people of the ruling party”. He termed the budget “hollow” and said that “work has been done to hurt every section and benefit a few capitalists”.
Trinamool Congress member Samirul Islam said the budget is anti-West Bengal and anti-people. It has been prepared only for Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, he added. AIADMK MP CV Shanmugam alleged that the central government is giving step-motherly treatment to Tamil Nadu. He said that there is no new scheme for Tamil Nadu in the budget and it has not got adequate allocation.
RJD MP Sanjay Kumar said Bihar needs special category status and not a special package, which has been repackaged several times in the past. “A lot is being said about the special package for Bihar, but the truth is 25 paise remains 25 paise even after repackaging. A book does not become a new book by putting a new cover on it. This is what happens with Bihar, only the wrapper changes and nothing else. He demanded that Bihar should be immediately given the status of a special state and a time limit should be fixed for completion of work.”
BJD member Debashish Samantaray said the Centre has given a raw deal to all eastern states like Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal in the budget. He charged that in spite of Odisha giving 20 seats to BJP, there was hardly anything for the state in the budget.
YSRCP’s Vijayasai Reddy said a populist picture of giving a lot to Andhra Pradesh is being presented in the budget, but the reality is completely opposite to this. “Chief minister Chandrababu Naidu has become a magician and is acting as if Andhra Pradesh has got all the resources…. We have nothing to say about what was given to Bihar in terms of infrastructure, but there is no clarity in the budget about infrastructure for Andhra Pradesh,” he said.
Small entrepreneurs to gain: BJP
BJP MP Bhagwat Karad said that doubling the loan limit to Rs 20 lakh under the Mudra scheme will greatly help small entrepreneurs. He added that in the next five years, a scheme will be launched to provide internship opportunities to one crore youth in top 500 companies. Karad also said that the government will bring a loan guarantee scheme for micro, small and medium enterprises under which a term loan facility will be available without any collateral or third-party guarantee.
