Oppn creating false narrative around Budget: FM

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 12

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday countered Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s jibe about the concentration of political and economic power by accusing the Opposition of creating a “false narrative”.

“It has now become a sort of habit for some in the Opposition to constantly allege, in spite of what we are doing for the poor. A false narrative is being created that this government works only for cronies,” she said, responding to a debate in the Rajya Sabha on the Union Budget.

Sitharaman then went on to list the Centre’s pro-poor initiatives that include 1.67 crore houses under PM Awas Yojana, over 2.67 crore households electrified under PM Saubhagya Yojana, 80 crore people given free foodgrain and the government placing orders worth over Rs 8 lakh crore on MSMEs.

“Are they being given to big capitalists? They’re being given to MSMEs,” she stated, while counter-accusing the UPA government of having “happily encouraged” cronies when it was in power.

Sitharaman then went personal by stating that the Centre’s policies were meant to help the poor and farmers and not the “damaads” in a reference to Robert Vadra, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law.

The Budget’s aim was to provide a “strong stimulus” to the economy and gain from the multiplier effect. “We also looked at medium, long term and sustainable growth that will help us remain one of the fastest growing economies,” she added.

The Budget provisions are for poor, Dalits and tribals. “Infrastructure creation, continuing reforms, transparency of accounts are the key features of the Budget,” she asserted.

Later, she responded to skepticism about the Budget figures by again attacking Congress members. “Your track record is bad. Your Budget estimate was never met,” she said while reading out statistics from Budgets by the UPA government.

She said the Budget draws on the experience, the administrative capacities and exposure that PM Modi had during his tenure as CM and PM.

Quote: ‘Policies not for damaads’

Centre’s policies are meant to help poor and farmers and not the ‘damaads’. The Budget provisions are for poor, Dalits and tribals – union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman