Members of Congress, Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) staged a walkout from the Lok Sabha on Thursday during Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's reply to MPs' questions on the Union Budget 2022.
Following the Opposition leaders walkout, Sitharaman said, "Congress does not have the patience to sit in the House and face the truth. Instead, they run away," the minister said.
Answering a question regarding income inequality in the country, Sitharam emphasized the Centre's policies of financial inclusion and mentioned schemes like Jan Dhan Yojna and Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojna.
"Jan Dhan Yojna brought in financial inclusion for all Indians. Today there are 44.58 crore such accounts and opened as zero balance accounts, there are Rs. 1.57 lakh crore deposited in those accounts."
She said MGNAREGA is a demand-driven scheme, as and when there is demand through the supplementary demand for grants the Centre gives the additional required amount.
"Our decline was sharp during the pandemic but now the recovery is equally fast. This year, next year, next year too. The rest of the countries recovery is not that fast," she said.
"44 Unicorns have successfully been identified in this country. They have created wealth and have also become the new showcase of India's talent and innovation. This has happened between 2020- 2021," added Sitharaman.
"Many members spoke about 60 lakh job opportunities. There is a discussion about creating 60 lakh job opportunities in just one scheme, the PLI scheme. If work is done on the schemes of infra, railway, port, electricity, then employment will also be available. In a big boost to farmers, Rs 1 lakh crore Agriculture Infrastructure Fund has been created by our government," the Finance Minister told Lok Sabha.
Responding to Opposition allegations regarding Union Budget, Finance Minister told opposition members that they can do as much "cherry picking" as they want but in the end, they will have no cherries in their basket except coal.
Following Opposition MPS walkout, MoS Finance Bhagwat Karad told ANI, "Nirmala Sitharaman has given comparative answers to all the questions asked on the budget. She told all the things that what we have done for farmers, how much employment we have given. Opposition parties could not digest it and walked out of the house."
The 2022 Budget Session of the Parliament commenced on January 31 with President Ram Nath Kovind's address. The first part of the budget session is being held from January 31 to February 11 and the second part will take place from March 14 to April 8.
The Union Budget 2022-23 was presented in parliament on February 1.
( With inputs from ANI )
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