leaderspeak

The budget is agriculture-oriented but reaches out to all the sections of the society. Every new scheme announced in the budget has the requisite budgetary allocation though I realise the fiscal health is precarious. The Central government will support, if need be. Jai Ram Thakur, chief minister

The budget is directionless and a mere repetition of the previous one. Only the names of some of the schemes have been changed. It mentions nothing about opening new institutions though I thank them for not shutting any schools. Virbhadra Singh, former chief minister

The budget is nothing but a jugglery of figures. The proposed fiscal deficit of 5% will push the state into a debt-trap. The Bharatiya Janata Party government’s first budget speaks nothing of revenue generation. Rakesh Singha, CPM legislator

The BJP government won the election in the name of unemployed youth but completely forgot them in its first budget. The entire budget speech by chief minister Jai Ram Thakur is silent on the issue of job creation. Mukesh Agnihotri, Congress Legislature Party leader

It’s a people-oriented budget. It addresses all the sections of the society. The aim of the budget is revival of the farm sector besides focusing on women and the educated unemployed which form a large portion of the population. Satpal Satti, state BJP president

People had high hopes from the BJP which had come to power promising a lot but they have betrayed the mandate by not elaborating or even mentioning any employment policy or measures to check corruption. Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, state Congress president