On the second day of Budget discussions in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, Preneet Kaur (Congress) said it was for the first time that a Finance Minister did not speak on Defence allocation. Stating that headlines don’t produce results, she said the budget failed to rise to the challenge.
But BJP’s Sunita Duggal said her Government in the last five years has bandaged the wounds that were inflicted during the last 70 years. She also said the government will achieve the target of USD 5 trillion economy.
DMK MP and former Telecom Minister A Raja, however, said that the budget has no roadmap. “I am not really able to respect the budget. You gave the budget...But what are all the assurances given in the budget. In order to achieve the assurances there is no roadmap at all,” said Raja.
BJP’s Vinod Shankar said youth are being exploited by industries. “Now is the time that we should frame a national policy on outsourcing to prevent exploitation of youth,” he said, adding that there is a need to identify districts where industries can be set up. He also attacked the Congress for criticising some budget provisions, saying people who have never given six paisa to farmers are now raising issues over Government’s move to give Rs 6,000 to farmers.
Nama Nageshwara Rao (TRS) said they were expecting steps in the Budget for the state from the first full-time woman Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who is from South India. He demanded more funds for projects in Telangana.
Ram Chandra Paswan (LJSP) also participated in the discussion.
AIMIM member Asaduddin Owaisi said budget allocation to minority affairs ministry has not been increased for the current fiscal. Owaisi also said subsidy for Haj pilgrimage has been cut to Rs 89 crore from Rs 500 crore and the government should utilise the unused money in building schools for Muslims. He said the Government has stopped coming out with the figures of number of jobs created for minorities.