Sukhbir Badal: Modi Budget discriminatory

Chandigarh, July 23

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Badal has termed the Union Budget-2024 as discriminatory towards Punjab. He said the Budget had failed to address any of the state’s demands.

Sukhbir said, “No allocation has been made for crop diversification or debt waiver to farmers. This, despite the fact that the water table in the state was at an all-time low, besides there being an urgent need to incentivise farmers to shift away from paddy cultivation.”

It was also unfortunate that no funds had been allocated for a debt waiver to Punjab farmers who were facing indebtedness and even resorting to suicide in desperation, he said.

Sukhbir said the Centre had also failed to provide legal guarantee on minimum support price (MSP) and allocate funds to purchase all crops on MSP.

The SAD president added that the industrial sector had also been left high and dry. He said no tax concessions had been announced for Punjab despite the fact that its industry had been crippled due to incentives given to the neighbouring states.