Centre works only for the super rich: BJD MP

NEW DELHI: Biju Janata Dal (BJD) lawmaker Tathagata Satpathy on Friday took a dig at the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government as he initiated the debate on the interim budget in Lok Sabha. Even as disruptions continued, Satpathy, the MP from Odisha, said the underlying message of the budget was, “you give me vote, I will give you money”, a subtle reference to the series of sops the government announced, including the tax rebates.

While the NDA government’s last budget focused sharply on the middle class and the farmers, Satpathy said that the government only worked for the “super rich” people. Congress’ Veerappa Moily was scheduled to initiate the debate but Satpa- thy started the discussion. The BJD lawmaker also hit out at the Congress, his party’s arch rival in Odisha, and said, the NDA government is completely following “misdeeds and modus operandi” of the previous Congress government.

In an apparent reference to finance minister Piyush Goyal, who was present in the House, he said a number of senior cabinet ministers in the government are from the Rajya Sabha while those from the Lok Sabha have been ignored. “Lok Sabha members are rooted in ground issues,” he remarked.

During his speech, Congress MP from Assam, Gaurav Gogoi, tried to disrupt the House by demanding a debate on the controversial Rafale deal. But Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan said not allowing members to speak is akin to killing democracy.