Opposition parties term Union Budget a major letdown
NEW DELHI: Asserting that the Union Budget was a “let down like never before”, the Congress on Monday said it will unravel soon and described the cess on petrol and diesel as a “vengeful act” against the farmers who took out the tractor rally.
The party said it was a case of “wrong diagnosis and prescription”, and that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman could have been “brave” by extending help to the poor.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that the Narendra Modi government plans to handover India’s assets to capitalists while P Chidambaram said Sitharaman “deceived” those who were listening to her speech, especially the MPs who had no clue that she imposed cess on a large number of products including petrol and diesel — Rs 2.50 and Rs 4.00 respectively.
“It was a vengeful act against the thousands of farmers who took out the longest tractor rally in history. It was also a cruel blow to federalism because the states do not get a share of the revenue from cesses,” the former finance minister said.
“She deceived the people of India, especially the poor, the working class, the migrants, the farmers, the industrial units that had been closed down permanently, and those who had lost their jobs, both regular and informal, and are still looking for jobs,” he alleged.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also said the “pro corporate” budget had “disappointed” the people and it only reiterated the Centre’s stand to open the agricultural sector to them. The budget showed that all the mediation talks with the farmers were just an “eyewash” and the Centre did not intend to withdraw the three contentious farm laws.
“This amounts to challenging the people of the country. The budget reiterates the stand of the central government, opening the agricultural sector to the corporates”. The CM said that the union government had decided to divest more PSUs and invite FDI.
By withdrawing from various fields, including the insurance sector, the government’s attempt is to push the country into the hands of the corporates, he alleged. On the Centre’s proposal to set up a Development Financial Institution for infrastructure development, Vijayan said, those who opposed the Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Fund Board (KIIFB) as unconstitutional were now following the state’s model.