New Delhi, Feb 1 The eighth consecutive Budget of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented over 77 minutes, brought cheer to the common man but drew sharp criticism from the Congress party which called it "visionless" and a "poll related gimmick."
From Jairam Ramesh to KC Venugopal, top Congress leaders slammed the Budget and called it a "mundane document with minor tinkering" which will do nothing to revive India’s tottering economy.
Jairam Ramesh, the Congress communications in-charge termed the Budget announcements as the Centre ‘discriminating’ between its key allies – JD(U) and TDP. He said that Bihar got a 'budget bonanza' but Andhra got 'cruelly ignored'.
Taking to X, Ramesh wrote, "It is natural since an election is due there later in the year. But why has the other pillar of the NDA, namely Andhra Pradesh, been so cruelly ignored?"
In a series of further tweets, he said, “The economy suffers from four crises. However, the Budget does NOTHING to address these illnesses. The only relief has been for income tax payers. What actual impact this will have on the economy remains to be seen.”
KC Venugopal, slamming the Centre over ‘inefficient’ governance for the past 11 years, said that the Modi dispensation has only tried to hoodwink the public by giving empty slogans, with no vision or relief for the poor and marginalised sections of society.
“No vision for job creation, nothing to improve India’s investment climate, no MSP guarantee for farmers and no strategy to counter the massive inflation destroying budgets of middle class households,” he stated.
He said that the Budget was another attempt at destroying MGNREGA as the Centre failed to increase the budget allocated for the scheme.
"The Budget has sent a message that this government is only capable of indulging in election-related gimmicks for their politics, but cannot address the severe economic distress being experienced across the country today,” he remarked.
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