New Delhi: Brushing aside the Opposition charge that the NDA regime was promoting “crony capitalism,” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday took a dig at the Congress for favouring a “damaad” (son-in-law). “Who takes Mudra Yojana loans totalling more than Rs 27,000 crore? Damaads?” she asked as she outlined that the Government was committed to the welfare of the people.
Putting a spirited defence of her budget for 2021-22 tabled in Parliament on February one, she said in the Rajya Sabha it has become the opposition’s habit to constantly accuse the Centre and spin a false narrative.
Replying to a debate on the budget in which 48 MPs from difference parties spoke, she said Budget 2021-22 is the instrument through which Aatmanirbhar Bharat is to be attained.
“It's a budget which clearly draws on the experience, the administrative capacities and also exposure that the Prime Minister had during his long-elected tenure, both as Chief Minister and as Prime Minister of this country, known for his commitment towards development, growth, and reforms. So these three things are essentially infused in the budget which is now speaking for itself in the sense that it is the instrument through which Aatmanirbhar Bharat is to be attained,” Sitharaman said.
On the often repeated charge of crony capitalism promoted by the present dispensation, the minister said a false narrative was created to say this government “works only for cronies.”
She cited the example of more than 3.6 lakh crore digital transactions made via by the Unified Payments Interface(UPI)between August 2016 till January 2020.
“UPI is used by who? The rich? No. Middle class, smaller traders. Who are these people then? Is government creating UPI, facilitating digital transactions to benefit rich cronies? Some damaads? No,” she said.
She used the “damaad” term a couple of times drawing sharp response from the Congress. The minister said “Does the Congress party have a trademark over the word 'damaad'?”
She then went on to say “Damad har ghar mein hota hai. Magar Damad Indian National Congress mein ek specialised naam hai.” She also said “Loans sanctioned under Mudra Yojana - more than ?27,000 crore. Who takes Mudra Yojana? Damads?” she also asked
Highlighting some of the key points of the budget for the next fiscal, Sitharaman said the government is also looking at “long term sustainable growth” besides providing 'quick short term solutions’.
Sitharaman also said 800 million people were provided free food grains, 80 million were given free cooking gas and 400 million, including farmers, women, Divyangs and the poor, were given cash directly. “The Minister then asked the opposition if only cronies benefited from these provisions. Over 1.67 crore houses were completed under the PM Awas Yojana. Is it for the rich? Over 2.67 crore households were electrified under PM Saubhagya Yojana since 2017 October. The total value of orders placed on government e-market is ? 8,22,077 crore. Are they being given to big companies? They're being given to MSMEs,” she said.