Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal criticised the Union Budget, saying it is unjust to the city’s people as Delhi’s share in the Central taxes remains low at only `325 crore and that it does not have any concrete plan for tackling unemployment and inflation.
Kejriwal noted allocations for education and health sectors have also been reduced. “This Budget will not provide any relief from inflation...it will lead to an increase in inflation.
“It does not have any concrete plan for tackling unemployment while the reduction of allocation for the education sector from 2.64% to 2.5% is unfortunate. The reduction in the allocation to the health sector from 2.2% to 1.98% is harmful,” he tweeted in Hindi.
"Step-motherly treatment again with the people of Delhi. The Delhiites paid more than `1.75 lakh crore income tax last year. Out of that only `325 crore was given for the development of Delhi. This is a gross injustice to the people of Delhi," Kejriwal said in a series of tweets. Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia called the Union Budget 2023-24 announced by the BJP-led Centre on Wednesday nothing but a 'jumla' and said it would only immerse the country into debt, while labelling the exercise "depressing". Sisodia said this budget will add a debt of `15 lakh crore. "We all know that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has made terms like 'acche din' a jumla. The budget by BJP-led Centre is nothing but a jumla. We have heard many such jumlas in the past —like introduction of bullet trains or the promise of doubling farmers' income or creating 60 lakh jobs," he said during a press conference.
“Alleging that the budget will further immerse the country in debt, he said that till 2014, the Centre had a debt of `53 lakh crore and during two successive terms of the BJP-led NDA Government, the country came under a debt of `150 lakh crore and "this budget will further immerse the country under additional `15 lakh crore debt". "You speak to any economist. This is a dangerous thing," he said. The budget is disappointing for Delhiites, he said, adding that only Rs 325 crore was allocated for the national Capital under the subhead of grant in lieu of taxes even though Delhi pays over 1.75 lakh crore income tax.
The amount of `325 crore has remained unchanged for the last 22 years, Sisodia claimed. He claimed that budget had nothing to offer for employment generation or keeping a tab on the increasing inflation and opined that it "only had announcements for super-rich".
"For Delhi it's a budget with no benefits. We pay `1.78 lakh crore as tax but in return we are allocated `325 crore only. Rest of the states get 42 per cent of the central taxes and Delhi gets only `325 crore.
Delhi is always treated badly. This is not only happened with the Aam Aadmi Party Government. This has been the situation since 2001. Twenty-two years have passed but we get the same amount. This is injustice to Delhi," he said. The Deputy Chief Minister also rued that even though municipal corporations of other states get funds from the Centre, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) does not get any such funds.
Meanwhile, the AAP on Wednesday questioned Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's claim about doubling of per capita income since 2014, saying it is ‘Amrit Kaal' for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, not for the common people of the country.
“Neither did the Minimum Support Prices (MSP) of crops increase nor did the youth get employment. But this is Amrit Kaal for Modi ji. Nirmala ji is saying per capita income has doubled,” AAP's Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, who is also the party's national spokesperson, said in a series of tweets in Hindi, wondering “whose income” doubled.
Latching on to the Finance Minister's proposal that 50 additional airports will be revived, the AAP MP took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “Modi ji will build 50 new airports. Who will get them?” Singh said in a tweet.