Indus Valley Times

NEW DELHI, JULY 23 : The Opposition on Tuesday slammed Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget speech for not focusing on uplifting the poor and prioritising NDA allies like Chandrababu Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party (TDP) at the cost of other states. Leading the charge against the NDA government, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi termed it a “kursi bachao” (power retention) Budget.

Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, said the Budget 2024 was aimed at appeasing cronies with no relief for the common Indian.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said that the Union Budget 2024 was a way to retain power as he mentioned special projects for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh – both ally states of NDA.

The Finance Minister announced new airports, medical colleges, highways in Bihar, and Special Financial Support for Andhra Pradesh in Budget 2024.

Akhilesh Yadav, who as part of the Opposition-led INDIA bloc, put up a stellar show in Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha elections 2024, said that it’s “good” that the Centre announced special projects for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh because they want to “save the government”.

“They have increased unemployment in the country in the past 10 years,” the Samajwadi Party chief told reporters outside Parliament.

He also claimed that the projects in Uttar Pradesh that the BJP leaders proudly mentioned, and claimed were completed, indeed remain unfinished.

Congress veteran Jairam Ramesh also echoed his INDIA bloc colleague, while mentioning the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, asking why it took “10 years to announce” what was “already committed”.

“In 2018, Chandrababu Naidu garu quit the NDA becuase of the non-biological PM’s failure to grant Andhra Pradesh Special Category Status. Six years after the drama, at a time when the Government is reliant on his MPs for support, all he has managed to get is ‘special financial support’ for Amaravati,” Jairam Ramesh tweeted.

Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee also called the Budget a seat-saving move.

“They have provided Budget boosts to whoever are NDA allies and they (the Centre) want to keep to their side,” he said.

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati called the Budget less of ‘good days’ hopes for the poor, unemployed, farmers, women and labourers, and more of disappointment for them.

“Will people’s lives become happy and prosperous with such provisions in the budget?” she asked, slamming the Centre for lacking the “required reformist policy and intentions” towards the upliftment of India’s over 125 crore weaker sections.

Taking a similar dig at the Centre, Kerala Finance Minister KN Balagopal called the Budget 2024 a “political exercise” aimed at saving the life of the BJP-led NDA at the Centre.

He called the Budget “anti-people and anti-nation” that didn’t take into account the requirements of various states, including the legitimate needs of Kerala.

CONGRESS’S TAUNT-LADEN PRAISE

Jairam Ramesh called out Nirmala Sitharaman for taking a leaf out of the Congress’s ‘Nyay Patra 2024’. He claimed the Budget’s internship programme is “clearly modelled” on Congress’s proposed apprenticeship programme called ‘Pehli Naukri Pakki’.

“However, in their trademark style, the scheme has been designed to grab headlines, with arbitrary targets (1 crore internships) rather than a programmatic guarantee for all diploma holders and graduates, like the Indian National Congress had envisioned,” the Congress veteran tweeted.

The Congress veteran, however, appeared to praise the Finance Minister’s “welcome move” of abolishing the Angel Tax for investors.

“In a welcome move, however, the Finance Minister has heeded the Indian National Congress’s demand to abolish the Angel Tax that has disincentivised investments in India’s start-ups,” Jairam Ramesh tweeted.

His colleague and former Finance Minister P Chidamabaram also slammed Nirmala Sitharaman for “copying” Congress’s ideas.

“I am happy she has virtually adopted the Employment-linked incentive (ELI) outlined on page 30 of the Congress Manifesto. I am also happy that she has introduced the Apprenticeship scheme along with an allowance to every apprentice spelt out on page 11 of the Congress Manifesto. I wish the FM had copied some other ideas in the Congress Manifesto. I shall shortly list the missed opportunities,” Chidamabaram tweeted.

He also mentioned the abolition of Angel Tax, calling out the Finance Minister for heeding to Congress’s demand for several years and “most recently in (its) manifesto on page 31”.

Telangana’s Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president KT Rama Rao was upset that Telugu daughter-in-law Nirmala Sitharaman gave the state a miss from her special mention in the Union Budget.

“Despite having a budget of more than Rs 48 lakh crore, only a few states received major benefits. It is disappointing that Telangana is not mentioned in the entire budget. Once again, Telangana has received nothing,” he said.

The former Telangana minister stated that the previous government in the state under K Chandrasekhar Rap had repeatedly requested the Centre to make decisions on almost 35 promises under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act, 2014, and even wrote letters.

“The people of Telangana should think about what happened when they gave 16 seats to national parties like BJP and Congress. They should consider the funds allocated to Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, which have more seats in parliament, and compare it to Telangana regional force. We need to understand that our political identity and strength is crucial for Telangana’s development,” KT Rama Rao said.

AAP QUESTIONS NO PENNY TO DELHI

Delhi Finance Minister and AAP leader Atishi asked why the national capital received not a single penny as its share in central taxes in the Budget 2024 despite paying Rs 2.32 lakh crore in taxes to the central government.

-PTI