The Union Budget presented on Thursday has elicited contradictory reactions from the ruling party and opposition in Uttarakhand. The Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat has hailed the Union Budget as one focused on villages, farmers, women, development and health services. On the other hand, the opposition has criticised the general budget with the Pradesh Congress Committee president Pritam Singh terming it a “directionless” budget.
Commenting on the union budget, the Chief Minister said that the union finance minister had presented a budget that will benefit the economically weaker sections of society.
Stating that the budget had validated the state’s vision of cluster-based agriculture, Rawat said that enhancing farm produce through cluster based agriculture will also help in improving the financial condition of farmers in the state. The minimum support price for produce has been increased by about two and a half-folds, which will help in doubling the income of farmers. He further appreciated the budget stating that Rs 13,000 crore has been approved for roads in the state under the Bharatmala project.
On the other hand, the PCC president Pritam Singh opined that the Union Budget was an extension of the Centre’s “obstinacy”. He said, “This budget is directionless, anti-development, one that will fuel unemployment and price rise while also denting the economic growth of the nation. The Union Finance minister has played with figures to come up with a budget that will fuel price rise and increase the burden on the common man. There is no dearth of announcements in the general budget but no provision has been made to compensate for the loss caused by Goods and Services Tax or to alleviate the situation of the common public facing the consequences of price rise. The future of the youth has also been blatantly ignored in the general budget. This budget will bring about a drop in the employment opportunities in the country. There is nothing in this budget for the poor and common man,” opined the PCC chief.