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The first budget of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third term has been received with disdain by the newly-strengthened opposition. The Congress has sharply criticised it, while its India Bloc allies are unanimous in the view that it is a “kursi sakao” budget. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav too has lashed out at the term, coined by Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress. But his displeasure lay elsewhere.
Mr Yadav told reporters today, “It is understandable that they have to save their government and they have given special packages to Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, but in a state like Uttar Pradesh which has given the country a Prime Minister, is there anything for the farmers here?”
“This is their 11th budget and it is strange that people are still surviving. The problems that were there earlier – inflation, unemployment (are still there). If we look at Uttar Pradesh, what is the status of investment? They talk about big numbers, but none of their major projects have been completed,” he said.
Mr Yadav also criticised the government’s massive skill development programme in collaboration with the private sector.
He said, “They created unemployment for 10 years. And now they are hoping to solve it, that too through piecemeal jobs. The youth of the country need stable jobs. They are providing only one year of training.”
Ms Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress reacted strongly to this. Senior party leader Kalyan Banerjee took a dig at the special package for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh and called it a “kursi sakao budget”.
He said, “He has presented a budget for the allies, which will save their seats. This budget is to keep his NDA allies Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu happy.”
The adjective “save the chair” was also used by Rahul Gandhi.
The “Save the Chair” budget.
– Appeasing allies: making empty promises to them at the expense of other states.
– Pleasing friends: Benefits to AA, but no relief to common Indian.
– Copy and paste : Congress manifesto and previous budgets.
– Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 23, 2024
The Congress has also alleged that the government’s key skill development announcement has been taken directly from its manifesto. Party chief Mallikarjun Kharge called it a “nakalchi (copy-paste)” budget.
Senior party leader P Chidambaram wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “I am glad to note that the Hon’ble Finance Minister has read the Congress manifesto LS 2024 after the election results. I am glad that he has virtually adopted the Employment-Linked Incentive (ELI) mentioned on page 30 of the Congress manifesto… I wish the Finance Minister had copied some of the other ideas in the Congress manifesto. I will list the missed opportunities shortly.”
Trinamool’s Kalyan Banerjee also said there was nothing for Bengal, where the BJP has lost ground. “This budget is not for India. They have given nothing to Bengal. They cannot tolerate Bengalis. The BJP will be wiped out from Bengal,” he said.
Former Bihar chief minister and RJD leader Rabri Devi said the Rs 26,000 crore assistance allocated to Bihar for development of key projects, including road connectivity and infrastructure, is a “tinker”.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced big packages for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, including infrastructure boost and special financial assistance.
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