Finance Commission meeting in UP: Developing ‘Ram’s exile’ route tops BJP agenda

A BJP spokesperson said the delegation requested promotion of religious and cultural tourism, including development of ‘Ram Van Gaman Marg’ for tourism along the route. Financial assistance was also sought for improvement of agricultural soil in Bundelkhand along with a focus on new universities and institutes for higher education.

Meanwhile, the Congress delegation, led by former Union Minister Salman Khurshid, raised the issue of inability of the government to utilise the allocated funds under different schemes like Ayushman Yojna, Kisan Samman Nidhi, loan waiver etc. It alleged that the state government was busy spending money in the schemes that promote its ideology and had failed in implementation of Central schemes. It claimed that the rural economy was in a slowdown mode and requested the commission to focus on financial empowerment of urban and rural bodies.

Samajwadi Party MP Ravi Verma and MLC Udaiveer Singh also attended the meeting. Udaiveer said the party made four demands: exempting farm machinery and produce from GST, increasing funds for panchayats, and more finances for health and education.