Opposition parties hit out at govt over jobs, inflation; say Budget neglected rural, poor

New Delhi, Feb 10 (PTI) Opposition on Monday hit out at the government on issues of rising inflation, joblessness and growing income inequalities, alleging that the Union Budget has not taken care of the poor and rural population.

Initiating a discussion on Union Budget 2025-26 in the Rajya Sabha, Chidambaram said that it was a 'politically-driven budget' with Delhi elections in mind as it ignored the poor and bottom half of the population.

"There ought to be a philosophy behind the Budget, but I cannot find one in this Budget. I shall not attempt to do so because after going through the Budget speech and Budget numbers, I believe there is no philosophy behind the Budget," he said.

Chidambaram further said, "It is obvious that the budget was politically driven, I shall not elaborate upon that but I congratulate the finance minister for achieving one of her objectives a couple of days ago." The senior Congress leader also sought to know the reasons for the reduction in allocations for the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and if the government is closing down embassies and consulates and shrinking India's presence across the world.

DMK MP Tiruchi Siva said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi described this Budget as a road-map for Viksit Bharat. “But the numbers reveal that the path seems only a mirage," he stated.

He noted that the Budget was presented as a proclamation of progress but it conveniently hides the realities of the time like stagnant growth, growing inequality, and a sizeable demographic dividend slipping off the fingers.

"This government's policies have only enriched the privileged few, leaving behind a section of people with joblessness, inflation, and shrinking opportunities," Siva said.

Trinamool Congress MP Ritabrata Banerjee said the unemployment rate among the youth has gone up drastically in 2023-24.

"The latest Economic Survey data is showing that every year in the self-employed male workers the real earnings are decreasing constantly from 2017-18," he added.

Golla Baburao of the YSRCP said this Budget from each and every point has deceived the poor and vulnerable sections, adding there is a need to cut wasteful expenditure to reduce the fiscal deficit.

Raising the issue of inflation, he said the allocation of MNREGA and PM Kisan has not been increased the way they deserve, demanding "higher allocation" for the two programmes.

Debashish Samantaray of BJD said the Budget speech does not mention measures to improve the working conditions, wages and rights of factory and industrial workers. He further said the Budget does not include support for low-income workers.

He said "no measure" was announced by the Finance Minister to control inflation. "The Finance Minister has announced tax relief up to Rs 12 lakh (income). What about low income workers," he said, claiming that inflation remains unchecked.

He alleged that Odisha does not get its fair share of revenue in the divisible pool of taxes despite its sizeable contribution, and demanded that "Odisha be granted special category status," and a fair share of Central taxes and revenues, along with higher investment in railways and infrastructure.

M Thambidurai AIADMK demanded more allocation of funds for Tamil Nadu, claiming that the money given by the Central government for the affordable housing scheme was not sufficient.

Ramji Lal Suman of the Samajwadi Party termed the Budget as "disappointing" and ignorant of the rural sector, claiming that the MNREGA scheme allocation has been lowered. He called the Budget "anti-farmer, anti-youth and anti-rural".

Jose K Mani KC (M) claimed that the "Budget has completely neglected the Kerala state".

Congress leader Akhilesh Prasad Singh criticized the government for "systematically neglecting" Bihar since its bifurcation, arguing that achieving a USD 5 trillion economy by 2047 requires addressing regional imbalances.

He demanded special category status for Bihar. PTI RSN MSS RSN MR MR

Source: PTI