New Delhi: BJP chief and Union Health Minister JP Nadda described the budget as one that provides stability, continuity and good governance even as he slammed the Congress on its criticism that it is a “copy-paste” during the debate on the issue in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. He also charged that the Opposition is engaging in double-speak on caste census, legal guarantee for MSP and rights of defence personnel.
Nadda slammed the Opposition on its performance in the recent Lok Sabha elections, saying its combined tally does not match the 240 seats won by BJP. The minister also used the term “Balak Buddhi (naive kid)” without naming any leader and picked holes in the Congress’ charges on the shortcomings in the budget.
Congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi for winning a third consecutive term, Nadda said, “Jawaharlal Nehru had won his third consecutive term when the Opposition comprised several small parties that were trying to find their feet. In the last election, Narendra Modi-led BJP won against an Opposition which was trying to pose a strong challenge. This is a mandate for stability, continuity, good governance, and for the unfolding of Viksit Bharat and pro-poor policies,” Nadda said.
He took jibes at the Congress, saying some people “could not even cross 100 seats and drew a blank in 13 states”.
Nadda touched upon several issues that the Opposition members had raised during the debate and outside.
“I saw on Twitter (X) that the Opposition has called this a budget for capitalists, then termed it ‘copy-paste’, and then dismissed it as waste. What exactly are you trying to say?” Nadda said.
He also criticised the Congress and others on batting for OBCs, saying “Some people have become champions of OBCs. That is good but the tutoring done is half-hearted… You are espousing the cause of OBCs for votes,” Nadda said, adding that Rajiv Gandhi had put the Mandal Commission report on the back burner.
Further, the BJP said while “lighting a fire” on the Agniveer scheme and posing as guardians of the new recruits, Congress has forgotten that it did nothing much for the One Rank-One Pension scheme, barring sanctioning Rs 500 crore as a token.
Nadda also recalled that in 2010 the Congress-led UPA government had replied to a question by BJP leader Prakash Javadekar where the then minister of state for agriculture KV Thomas had said giving legal guarantee to MSP is not feasible.
