Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav dismissed the Union Budget for 2020-21 as “disappointing and bankrupt budget from a bankrupt government”.
The Union budget was presented in the Lok Sabha by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday.
The SP chief said this was the most bankrupt Budget of the decade as there were no plans for creating job opportunities, reviving the rural economy and PSU banks which were deep in red and financial distress.
“There is no map in the budget to revive the failing economy nor any vision for creating fresh job opportunities which has adversely affected the faith of the people in the economy,” Yadav said, adding that the stock market crashed after the announcement of the budget, eroding investors’ wealth to the tune of over Rs 4 lakh crore.
He said the budget ignored the interests of 70 per cent population of the country and cheated the farmers, working class and the rural people.
The SP chief said the budget was silent on stemming the rising tide of inflation while despite the repeated claims of the Narendra Modi government of doubling the income of farmers, no change was visible on the ground in last over five years.
“Far from doubling the income the farmers, they have been denied remunerative price of their agricultural produce and the farmers reeling under the twin burden of bank loan and inflation are committing suicide across the country<” he said.
Yadav said the budget totally ignored the interests of the farmers and the agriculture sector and there was no relief for the sugarcane farmers.
He said the budget would bring no change in the lives of the poor people.
The SP chief said that despite the series of measures announced by the government for attracting investment, the investment climate remained subdued.
He said the relief in income tax announced in the Budget would have little meaning as there was no income and the people were jobless.
Yadav said the government had gone almost bankrupt as there was no money in the treasury and the government was forced to privatise Air India and sell its stakes in the LIC.
The SP chief said the prime minister’s claim of taking the Indian economy to the height of Rs 5 trillion dollar remained a pipe dream.
“In fact, the revenue of the government has nose-dived and fiscal deficit is growing, making the economic situation unmanageable,” he added.
Yadav said the budget would add to the miseries of the people.