Congress: Subsidies for students, farmers a new beginning in HP

Tribune News Service

Mandi, March 17

Congress leaders of Mandi district said that Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu today presented a progressive Budget, while BJP and CITU leaders criticised it.

Vijay Pal Singh, a Congress leader from Seraj, said that it was for the first time the state government was working for revenue generation.

He said that subsidies for students, farmers, entrepreneurs, health sector and the e-Harit state concept were a complete shift from Budgets presented in the previous years.

BJP leader Ranvir Singh criticised the Budget as misleading. He said that the Chief Minister did not mention welfare schemes like Sahara Yojana, Grihini Suvidha Yojana and the Shagun Yojana in the Budget, which were initiated during the previous BJP regime.

He said that the Chief Minister tried to mislead the public by showing the Centre- sponsored schemes as those of the state. There was no mention of 10 guarantees in the Budget.

CITU leader Bhupender Singh said the Budget gave a mere Rs 28 increase in the wages of MGNREGA workers, which is very low.