New Delhi, February 28
The Union Budget presented by finance minister P Chidamabram today drew scathing criticism from the opposition, mainly the NDA, the Samajwadi Party, as also the Left parties even as the Congress pointed to steps taken to check price rise and inflation.
Leader of opposition L.K. Advani said at a time when common man was feeling deeply distressed about the high cost of his daily meals, it was astounding to hear the finance minister exult about “good news for cat and dog lovers” and announce that the duty on pet foods had been lowered.
“The budget shows that the Congress refuses to learn any lessons,” Advani said referring to the advice of the Left parties to the Congress following the latest poll reverses. “This government’s mandate was relief to aam admi. Today’s budget is total betrayal of the mandate,” he said.
BJP leader and former finance minister Yashwant Sinha said the issue of rural indebtedness, which is the main reason for rural distress and farmer suicides, had been postponed for the future through the appointment of a committee to study the issue. He said housing, which emerged as a major driver of the economy during the NDA regime, had again received the short shrift.
Senior CPM leader Sitaram Yechury said the budget was a disappointment in the context of inflationary crisis affecting the economy. “The finance minister has not exploited the many opportunities for additional resource mobilisation, especially by taxing the rich whose income shares have increased,” he said.
Yechury said the claim that the focus of this budget was the agricultural sector was also not justified in terms of allocations.
Samajwadi party leader Amar Singh said the budget had shown that “Congress ka haath” was not with the common man. He said there was nothing in the budget to check inflation and price rise. He said the government had not learnt any lesson from the results of Assembly polls in Uttarakhand and Punjab.
Janata Dal (United) president Sharad Yadav said the budget was a copy of the last year and old schemes had been taken forward.
He questioned the move to set up a committee on farm sector, saying it was a delaying tactic.
