NC govt's budget 'love letter' to people of J-K, says CM Abdullah

Jammu, Mar 7 (PTI) Dismissing opposition criticism of his maiden budget, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday said his government prepared the budget with an aim to benefit the people, especially the weaker sections of society, and expedite development.

The budget is a love letter to the people of Jammu and Kashmir and not the BJP, he said. "I am satisfied this is the best start for Jammu and Kashmir, given its financial position and Union Territory status." Talking to reporters after presenting his first budget as finance minister, Abdullah said he never claimed that everything would be set right and the National Conference government would fulfil all its pre-poll promises in its first budget.

"Ask me the question about the fulfilment of election promises at the end of my five-year term. I will happily answer every question because our mandate is for five years," he said.

Asked about the opposition parties' criticism that the budget was Prime Minister Narendra Modi's document, he said, "If the prime minister wants to see Jammu and Kashmir as a developed state, should I say it should not happen? Is anyone among us saying that Jammu and Kashmir should not be developed because the prime minister had said this?" "If the Centre's intentions with regard to Jammu and Kashmir are right, we will move in that direction but this budget is not the government of India's budget. This budget is of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and we consulted a lot of them while preparing it. It was the first time in the country that all MLAs were made part of budget consultations and their suggestions sought," Abdullah said.

The chief minister said Jammu and Kashmir's six previous budgets were presented in Parliament and the people were not aware of its content.

"Even I don't know what was there in the budget for Jammu and Kashmir but, today, people are discussing, posing questions and making statements. Had it been the prime minister's budget, there would not have been a question-and-answer session here. Neither the prime minister nor the finance minister would have come here to answer your questions," the National Conference vice-president said.

The public will benefit if the track of the prime minister and the Jammu and Kashmir government's vision, as far as the Union Territory's development is concerned, meets, Abdullah said.

The chief minister said he did not expect anything but criticism from the opposition parties because "that is why they are called the opposition".

"If they were anything else, they would be in government," he added.

It will be difficult to find an example where the opposition had come out of Parliament or assembly and praised the budget, Abdullah further said.

"I believe we have presented a budget that is people-friendly. It is a love letter to the people of Jammu and Kashmir and, to that extent, the people who voted for the BJP, it is a love letter to them as well. It is a love letter to those who voted for the National Conference, Congress, the PDP (Peoples Democratic Party) and even those who did not vote," the chief minister said, responding to the opposition terming his budget as a "love letter to the BJP" and a document of "broken promises".

The budget was an exercise of trying to do maximum good with the least resources but the government will try to expand the social welfare schemes with improvement in its resource position, Abdullah said.

"I am not saying everything has been done. We are saying that we laid the foundation for the coming five years. If the foundation is strong, the structure built on it is also strong," he said.

In any society, those in need are cared for first and, therefore, the initiatives and the welfare measures announced in the budget are meant to cover the poorest of the poor, Abdullah said.

"As we move forward and our financial condition improves, we will expand the welfare measures," he added.

Abdullah said the emphasis of the budget was taking Jammu and Kashmir forward in a balanced manner, focusing on improving the economy, growing the investor base, expanding manufacturing, boosting start-ups and entrepreneurship, renewing focus on agriculture, horticulture and allied sectors, besides tourism.

"We are looking to grow tourism arrivals both in Kashmir and Jammu. On the governance side, there are initiatives for improving governance, asset creation and improving the social net available to the weaker sections," he added. PTI TAS TAS SZM SZM

Source: PTI