Union Budget 2018 Reactions Live Updates: Govt has attempted to pay lip service to farmers, says Congress

Union Budget 2018 Reactions Live Updates

8.30 pm: “It is not a populist budget but a budget which will become popular. When the economy prospers we prosper.” Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar was quoted as saying by ANI.

8.00 pm: In a mixed reaction to the budget, yoga guru Baba Ramdev said: “It would have been better had people been provided relief in Income Tax up to a limit of Rs 5 Lakh. I’m sure a decision will be taken in this regard soon. This was a nation-building budget.”

7.00 pm: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister hailed the budget for National Health Protection Scheme. “A revolutionary measure taken in health sector. Almost 50 Crore people, 40 per cent of the population to be benefited by the scheme. For the 1st time such a major health scheme has been announced in India,” he told ANI.

6.30 pm: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu also lauded the budget on his Twitter account. “My hearty thanks to PM Shri @narendramodi ji and Finance Minister Shri @arunjaitley ji for allocations in #UnionBudget2018 for construction of tunnel under the Sela Pass near Tawang in Arunachal to promote connectivity and tourism. The tunnel will cut down travel time by an hour,” he tweeted.

6.00 pm: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was critical of the Union Budget. “There was nothing new at all. It’s not a people friendly budget. FM said nothing about unemployment. Medium & Small-scale sectors are still suffering. It’s a shame that has introduced only 1 per cent education cess,” she was quoted as saying by ANI.

5.30 pm: Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said this budget is for making a New India. “It is for the youth of the country, women, farmers, for rural India and poor people living in cities.This is a strong budget,” ANI quoted him as saying.

5.00 pm: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said: “Now that the announcement has been made for defence corridor, the first one will be built starting at Tamil Nadu, linking Chennai and Bengaluru. Announcement for the second corridor will soon be made.”

4.45 pm: Meanwhile, former finance minister P Chidambaram mocked the Union Budget. “Farm sector stress will continue. Medical health care is a big jumla. Nothing in the budget to boost private investment. No tax relief to the average taxpayer. Is the FM serious?” he was quoted as saying by ANI. “I did not hear any measure to boost exports, as the Govt has run out of ideas. FM has imposed additional customs duties to restrict imports. The PM’s speech at and the spirit of Davos has been forgotten within a few days,” he said while reacting to the Budget.

4.30 pm: Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) terms the Union Budget 2018 as ‘disappointing’, to hold a nationwide demonstration on Friday.

4.10 pm: Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal has also welcomed the Union Budget, saying the government’s decision to double ministry’s budget allocation to Rs 1,400 crore for next fiscal will boost farmers income and generate million of new jobs. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday announced the allocation of food processing to Rs 1,400 crore for next fiscal from Rs 715 crore in this fiscal.

Read: Arun Jaitley’s Union Budget 2018 speech in Parliament: Full text

4.00 pm: Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu has welcomed the Budget saying it “addressed the real things” with more focus on the rural economy and the agriculture sector. However, he was “not happy” that Jaitley did not touch upon issues related to Andhra Pradesh, in the budget speech, reports PTI.

3.50 pm: Expressing disappointment over the Budget, Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Thursday claimed that it would increase inflation and hurt the common man.

3.45 pm: BSP supremo Mayawati said in a statement in Lucknow that like the previous budgets of the Modi government, this one was also “anti-poor and pro-capitalists”. “What happened to Modi’s promise of ‘achchey din’ he had made before the Lok Sabha polls in 2014?” she was quoted as saying by PTI. She also accused the prime minister of making “misleading speeches and claims”.

3.20 pm: Jitendra Singh, MoS PMO said: “Keeping focus on ‘ease of living’ the budget has kept people of all segments in mind.”

3.17 pm: Shiv Sena said the government has presented an “election budget”. The party said that the Centre had to take “desperate measures” following criticism over GST, note ban and Gujarat poll results.

3.15 pm: Home Minister Rajnath Singh termed the budget 2018-19 as a “budget for progressive and positive India” and said it would help bridge the gap between the rural and urban India.

3.10 pm: Reacting to the Budget, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said, “Congress is forgetting that in the yr before 2009 election the Congress party had allowed fiscal deficit situation to deteriorate from 2.9 per cent to over 5 per cent within same yr. If that is fiscal prudence, then we will have to revisit the definition of fiscal prudence in India.”

2.55 pm: Union Minister Ananth Kumar also hailed the budget saying it is a transformational budget, and it will bring about a positive change in everyone’s lives. “It’s a budget for the common man, the farmers and for the nation,” he was quoted as saying by ANI.

2.50 pm: Union Minister Smriti Irani congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on this year’s Budget. “I want to congratulate Prime Minister Narendra Modi on announcing the world’s biggest national health protection scheme. This budget is for the development of the poor, for farmers and increasing their income, senior citizens and women,” she was quoted as saying by ANI.

2.25 pm: Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis hailed the Union Budget, saying it was a big boost to sectors like infrastructure, economy, health care and job creation.

2.20 pm: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal also reacted to the Budget 2018: “I had expected some financial assistance to important infrastructure projects for national capital. Am disappointed that Centre continues its step-motherly treatment to Delhi,” he wrote on Twitter.

2.17 pm: Union Cabinet Minister of Textiles Smriti Irani thanked PM Modi and Jaitley for allocating Rs. 7,148 crore for Textiles that “will stimulate growth of the sector.”

“An inclusive #NewIndiaBudget focusing on ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’. I thank PM @narendramodi ji & congratulate FM @arunjaitley ji for presenting #NewIndiaBudget which gives impetus to ‘Ease of Living’ of citizens. Emphasis given to improving agriculture, rural development, health, education, infrastructure development across all sectors in #NewIndiaBudget resonates with aspirations of the common man,” she wrote on a series of tweets.

2.12 pm: CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury said: “Modi govt’s last full budget is a textbook exercise in post-truth: Unconnected to ground realities.”

2.10 pm: “Its a grand budget, lot of announcements for the poor, farmers and tribals. This budget will also cement India as a global economic power,” Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

2.00 pm: Desh ke ghareebon, gaon, kisaano, buzurgon ko dhyaan mein rakh kar behtareen yojnaayen hain, PM ka abhinandan aur FM ko badhai,” Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath was quoted as saying by ANI.

1.55 pm: “Medical insurance of Rs 5 lakh for 10 crore families is a huge initiative,” said Union minister Nitin Gadkari adding that this was a “historic budget.”

1.50 pm: Arun Jaitley said he has been approached by many senior citizens at public functions with requests for deduction in taxes on their savings including FDs and RDs.

1.40 pm: BJP general secretary Bhupendra Yadav said the budget emphasises on govt’s focus on economic empowerment and social inclusion

1.38 pm: Meanwhile, Sensex soars in the green, up 251 points at 36,216, while Nifty trades 69 points higher at 11,096. Follow LIVE updates on  Union Budget 2018 here.

1.35 pm: Railway Minister Piyush Goyal calls it a prudent budget. Unlike the UPA budget it didn’t try to increase the fiscal deficit, he said.

1.32 pm: BJD floor leader in Lok Sabha Bhartruhari Mahtab said, “The concern about rural impoverishment and unemployment has been addressed in the budget.  provided adequate funds are provided in due course. The payment of MSP over and above the investment plus 50 per cent is welcome, but to ensure that it reaches the farmer is a greater challenge. Raising the insurance coverage for health to Rs 5 lakh for a family will be Rs 8000 per month per person. My apprehension is that free medical health service may be curtailed.”

Click here to know what our editors think of Jaitley’s Union Budget 2018

1.30 pm: PM Narendra Modi issued a statement saying the last budget of his government was farmer-friendly. “Desh ki neev mazboot karne wala budget hai, farmer friendly, common man friendly, business friendly aur development friendly hai (The budget will strengthen the foundation of the country. It is beneficial to farmers, common man, businesses and development),” he said. “I congratulate the Finance Minister for the decision regarding Minimum Support Price. I am sure it will help the farmers tremendously.”

The PM also said the budget will add to ‘ease of living’ and ‘ease of doing business’. Farmers, Dalits, tribal communities will gain from the budget, which will create new opportunities for rural India, he added.

1.25 pm: “Hum Delhi ke aap ke vidhayakon ko toh yunhi badnaam kia gaya. Jitne vetan hamara 2015 mein tha aaj bhi mehengai mein utna hi hai. Phir bhi apne seemit sansaadhanon mein imaandari se kaam kar rahe hain,” AAP MLA Alka Lamba tweeted. Her tweet was in reference to 100 percent salary hike for MPs.

1.23 pm: Sameer Sah, Associate Partner, Khaitan & Co, said: “The remark on crypto-currency underscores what the RBI has already indicated. Businesses engaged in this will have to evaluate future prospects, but it has always been uncertain how Indian conservative monetary and fiscal policies will view this alternate form of currency.”

1.20 pm: Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev too praised the budget. “Immensely Inclusive Budget. Hope for the distressed farmer and poor populations. Congratulations to #FinanceMinister for Inclusive and Progressive tilt. -Sg #Budget2018 @arunjaitley,” he tweeted.

Immensely Inclusive Budget. Hope for the distressed farmer and poor populations. Congratulations to #FinanceMinister for Inclusive and Progressive tilt. -Sg #Budget2018 @arunjaitley

— Sadhguru (@SadhguruJV) February 1, 2018

1.18 pm: NDA ally and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar congratulated the government for the Budget. “Announcements regarding education, health and agriculture made. A national health protection scheme to benefit 10 crore poor families announced, it is a huge initiative. I would like to congratulate the government,” he was quoted as saying by ANI.

1.07 pm: PwC India official Ajay Kakra, who is the chief of the Food and Agriculture department, said: “The continued focus on agricultural sector reform is appreciated, especially the government’s effort to integrate rural haats to the eNam and increasing the purview of MSP for comprehensive coverage of agri commodities .The farmers can look forward to better price realisation now. ”

Apollo Munich Health Insurance CEO Antony Jacob said that the emphasis on digital innovation was a positive step. “Further thrust by the FM today on digital innovation in the country is a very positive step in today’s fast changing world. Digital innovation is transforming both governance delivery and creation of breakthrough services by the private sector. In particular the FM’s initiatives in this Budget to use technology in education – both for training teachers and for teaching students is an excellent move,” he said.

1.05 pm: “The govt has attempted to pay lip service to farmers and to other marginalised sections of society but it is a classical case of too less and completely at the inappropriate time,” Congress leader Manish Tewari said.

12.55 pm: RJD leader Tejaswi Yadav criticised the Budget on Twitter. “Modi sarkaar ne dharaatal par kuch nahi kia aur na hi kar rahi. Sarkar sirf kaghazon par baaton ke pakore aur jumlon ke bataashe utaar rahi hai (The government has done nothing on the ground. They are just creating policies on paper),” he wrote on Twitter.

मोदी सरकार ने धरातल पर कुछ नहीं किया और ना ही कर रही। सरकार सिर्फ़ कागज़ों पर बातों के पकौड़े और जुमलों के बताशे उतार रही है। #Budget2018

— Tejashwi Yadav (@yadavtejashwi) February 1, 2018

12.47 pm: Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the 2018 Budget provides a big relief to salaried taxpayers. “Standard deduction is back after more than a decade. It will provide a significant thrust to consumption & result in an increase in economic growth. Great initiative by FM @arunjaitley! #NewIndia,” he wrote on Twitter.

12.37 pm: “The biggest challenges to growth & employment generation are low credit offtake & ease of doing business. GST will help but what about fear among PSB chairmen to lend & unabated tax terrorism? Pleased that government has achieved last year’s disinvestment target but ONGC’s purchase of HPCL surely cannot qualify as “disinvestment”. Why take so much time to disinvest Air India? What about BSNL & MTNL which are also bleeding the Indian taxpayer? #Budget2018,” Deora tweeted.

12.35 pm: Former IT Minister Milind Deora took to Twitter to comment on the Union Budget 2018. “Have always maintained that this government wasted a historic opportunity – India’s first majority government in 30 years that had tail winds of low oil prices. Demonetisation was unnecessary. Government now forced to play catch up #Budget2018,” he said. In a series of tweets, the Congress leader pointed out that “budgets are a once-in-a-year presentations on the state of the economy” and a “government’s performance can not be judged on budget speeches.”

11.45 am: Jaitley announces massive healthcare policy covering 10 crore poor and vulnerable families. He also claimed the programme was world’s largest government-funded healthcare programme.

11.00 am: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presents Union Budget 2018.