The Delhi Assembly passed the annual Budget for the year 2015-16 on Wednesday through a voice vote even as the Opposition claimed that the Government has failed to implement the last year’s Budget. Finance Minister Manish Sisodia, however, rolled back the proposed VAT on footwear, textile and fabric costing below `500.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, while commending his party’s Budget, said people are calling it a “magical Budget”.
“People are asking how can a Budget lower taxes, and still increase revenue. How can it waive off bills, give unprecedented compensation to farmers and defense personnel, halve electricity bills, give free water and medicines and still remain in profit. They are asking what kind of magic is thisIJ It is the magic of an honest Government,” he said.
Sisodia said the intention of his Government behind the Budget is to ensure that the money of Delhi’s people is spent in the right manner. “By right manner, I mean three things should be ensured. One, that the money should be spent honestly, second that it should be spent wisely and third, that spending should be based on priority of the work,” he said.
Earlier, during the discussion on the Budget, leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta alleged that the AAP leaders are making exaggerations on their Budget (badi badi baatein ki ja rahi hain) and are “twisting facts” in their speeches. He further alleged that proposals made in the last year’s Budget are yet not implemented.
“In just one year, the model has changed from making ‘Swaraj Budget’ and the Government has now decided to do away with the concept. In the last Budget, you said every constituency will receive `20 crore as part of Swaraj Funds. But this year, you have reduced the amount to one-fourth… You claimed to quadruple the number of students in Netaji Subhash Institute in one year. You claimed to provide loan worth `10 lakh to students. But you failed in achieving anything… Your Government has made 12 u-turns in 12 months,” he said, adding that there seems to be a difference in the speech and actions of the Government.
In response, Kejriwal said that if the u-turn is in favour of the people of Delhi, he will make that u-turn any time.
“We made a u-turn on VAT on cheap textile, fabric and footwear. But we feel proud of that u-turn. On the other hand, jewelers are asking the Centre to rollback excise duty on jewellery, but the Central Government is shameless, adamant and arrogant and won’t rollback their decision. We don’t shy away from accepting our faults and correcting them when we make mistakes,” he said while making an appeal to the Centre to rollback its decision.