While leaders of Bharatiya Janta Party hailed first general budget of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, almost entire Opposition Parties termed it as ‘ directionless’ with no focus on generating employment or controlling inflation besides it did not take care on the issue related to farmers and poor.
The Opposition parties also blamed BJP for U-turn on Foreign Direct Investment(FDI), and claimed that it showed the double speak on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who already cheated the public in the name of `Achche Din Aane Wali Hai’. Earlier BJP had opposed FDI during the UPA regime, but now in the budget it has increased the FDI both in defence and insurance sectors.
``The entire budget of NDA is nothing but a bunch of hollow promises based on mercy of Foreign Direct Investment”, claimed former union minister and senior Congress leader, Beni Prasad Verma. Talking to `The Pioneer’, here on Thursday afternoon, Verma said that even if FDI came, which is so far being opening opposed by the BJP themselves, even then the local youths would get no jobs as there is no projection of schemes like skill development of local youths. ``The budget even had nothing for the farmers or for general public as no steps have been taken to increase the produce of vegetables and other food grains, interest free loan to marginal and small farmers, which both would help in controlling price rise”, claimed Verma adding that even the prices of urea and pesticides have been increased which would led to inflation. Similarly, he said that the sugarcane production would further go down as besides raising the import duty on sugar, which led to increase in it’s prices, budget also had no provision to pay Rs 10,000 crore, the amount which is to be paid to cane growers. Similarly, he said that to meet out water shortage, no measures have been taken for Rain Water Harvesting or even connecting rivers. Verma also criticised making provision of Rs 500 crore for rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits. ``If government is really wanted to rehabilitate the Kashmiri Pandits, then they should allot some land, provide homes and all other amenities including means of livelihood besides proper security cover”, cited Verma, saying that nothing such has been mentioned in the budget and the amount is also too less for the rehabilitation policy.
``The BJP government seems to playing in the hands of foreign investors and industrialists and leading the country to another phase of economic slavery. There is no policy for generating employment for the youths besides it failed to address the problems of the farmers, poors and even on inflation,” claimed Samajwadi Party spokesperson Rajendra Choudhury. He said that the budget only focused on FDI, which had been opposed by the BJP in the past.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) also flayed the union budget claiming that there is no `acheche din’ (good days) in store for dalits, poor and downtrodden section of the society but Modi government only took cares of industrialists who forwarded all help to BJP to ensure that good days for them—industrialists and BJP leaders- should come. ``BJP had made provision of Rs 200 crore to erect statue of Sardar Ballabhbhai Patel, but when same thing was done by us to install statue of old Dalit scions, the same party had criticised us and termed it as wastage of money”, cited BSP supreme Mayawati while stressing that it showed the double standard of BJP. She claimed that the BJP adopted similar step on FDI.
UP CPI(M) leader Premnath Rai and CPI leader Ashok Mishra have also criticised the BJP’s union budget claiming that it lagged intention to generate job opportunities in the country. “ The BJP government did not provide any fruitful proposals to uplift the miseries of the poor or to control inflation,”
they claimed.
National Secretary of Rastriya lok Dal (RlD), Anil Dubey too criticised the budget and claimed that it seems that the BJP only took care of industrialists while drafting the general budget. He claimed that increase of 3 percent in interest on loan to farmers, and hike in prices of urea would only lead to rise in prices of essential commodities.
However, BJP has welcomed the budget and UP president laxmikant Bajpai said that the government has taken care of all sectors and will give a push to the country’s growth rate.”The Income tax exemption for the salaried class was a
historic one and the Budget gave thrust in the problems of the middle class society,”Bajpai said. He claimed that the budget was pro-people and it gave focus in such area which had been ignored in the past.” Funds to clean Ganga, opening of AIIMS in Eastern UP and promoting textile clusters in UP were
some of the projects which will benefit the people of UP,” he said.