Cong calls Budget defeatist, TMC dubs it dying declaration

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah on Thursday hailed the Union Budget saying it gives new wings to aspirations of the poor, farmers and the middle class but the Opposition termed it as “defeatist” and a “big letdown”.

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said finance minister Arun Jaitley had failed the “fiscal consolidation test” which will have “serious consequences” on the growth rate.

“It is a defeatist budget. I think they have thrown in the towel. Unfortunately, the budget proposals are a big letdown,” he told a news conference.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter to attack the government. “4 years gone; still promising farmers a fair price. 4 years gone; fancy schemes, with no matching budgets. 4 years gone; no jobs for our youth. Thankfully, only 1 more year to go,” he tweeted.

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said the budget was “unconnected to ground realities” and is a “textbook exercise in post-truth”.

Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Derek O’Brien said, “It is super flop and a dying declaration of a government whose time is up.”

Bharatiya Samajwadi Party (BSP) chief Mayawati dubbed the budget as “anti-poor and pro-capitalists” and accused PM Narendra Modi of making “misleading” speeches and claims.

“What happened to Modi’s promise of ‘achche din’ he made before the Lok Sabha polls in 2014?” she asked in a statement.

Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Akhilesh Yadav called the budget a “big disappointment” for the poor, farmers and the middle class, and said it reflected the bias of the BJP towards the rich. “It’s a slap on face of traders, women, working class and the common man. This is an arrogant and destructive budget...” he said. He questioned the government’s promise of providing insurance of up to ₹5 lakh to 10 crore poor families calling it a “big jumla (gimmick)”.

NEW DELHI: