Haryana Govt under financial stress, claims Congress

Taking on the government for failing to manage its finances, the Congress claimed the government was under “financial stress”. Opening the discussion on the Budget presented by Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini during the ongoing session of the Vidhan Sabha, Raghuvir Singh Kadian, quoting statistics, stated, “The Budget and the allocations show that the government is under financial stress. Education should have got 6% of GSDP under the new policy. However, only 1.9% has been allocated,” he said, adding similar cuts were visible in other core sectors like health and agriculture.

He said the SYL did not find mention in the Budget speech. “Does it have anything to do with the CM’s visits to Punjab?” he sked.

Speaking in favour of the Budget, BJP MLA Ram Kumar Kashyap said it was forward-looking and would ensure rapid strides by the government.

Congress MLA Nirmal Singh also spoke on the Budget, criticising the government for making false promises.

After the conclusion of the general discussion on the Budget estimates, BJP MLA Pramod Vij brought a resolution thanking the Central government for reducing GST slabs.

The resolution was introduced by Vij along with Independent MLA Savitri Jindal, BJP MLA Ghanshyam Das Arora, and Jagmohan Anand.

However, Congress MLA Ashok Arora from Thanesar took a dig at the move and suggested that the BJP legislator should also express gratitude to the Prime Minister for imposing GST on agricultural implements, tractor parts and fertilisers.

“It was for the first time since Independence that items related to agriculture had been brought under the tax net. Along with thanking the Prime Minister, the BJP MLA should also urge him to apologise for collecting excessive money through GST over the past eight years, since the tax regime was implemented in July 2017,” Arora added.

Similar views were expressed by Congress MLAs Jassi Petwar and Vikas during the discussion on the resolution.