The Maharashtra Congress has said that the interim Budget presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday would affect the country's growth prospects as it failed to address key issues such as rising inflation and unemployment rates. Congress spokesperson Gopaldada Tiwari, while analysing the Union budget on Friday, said that the Budget also did not touch issues such as farmer suicides and the huge debt the country is facing. “Sitharaman conveniently forgot to tell the nation as to how the government plans to control the soaring inflation. There is no word on creating a suitable atmosphere for the growth of industries, investments and employment,'' stated Tiwari, while describing the interim Budget as a ‘final budget’ of the BJP government where the finance minister has indulged in idle talk. ''The Finance Minister did not make mention of the projects that have been implemented by the Modi Government during its tenure. The Budget skips mention about the amount of fiscal deficit and how the government plans to reduce it… It is a verbal exercise on improving the condition of the poor but in reality, it does not show any concrete plan for their uplift,'' he said. The Congress said the budget has given a raw deal to the poor. The Congress attacked the Centre for allocating only 1.07 per cent and 1.03 cent for health and education in the Budget. “The Modi Government has been harping on the theme of making India a five trillion dollar economy. But it should be remembered that developed countries have 3-4 per cent of their budget reserved for ‘health and education’ which is actually standard international norms,'' Tiwari said. Gopaldada Tiwari also questioned the Centre for disbanding the Planning Commission that has played an integral role in the nation’s development when the ‘Niti Ayog’ that replaced it “failed to live up to the country's expectations.” The Congress spokesperson said the Modi Government has an expertise on announcing projects and performing their bhoomi pujans. ''But when it comes to completion of development projects, it has been completely found waiting and waiting only. Hundreds of projects have been limping and many are still grounded,'' he mentioned. Tiwari said that while the Supreme Court has stated that a ‘Mandir Nyas’ should be set up and ‘Ram Temple’ should be constructed through public participation, the Modi Government has unnecessarily interfered in it, which is unconstitutional, and claimed false credit. The Congress said like in the last fiscal, this time too, Sitharaman has waxed eloquent about the 25-year blueprint of development. ''This time too, it will meet the same fate,'' he said. In 2015, Tiwari said PM Narendra Modi had made a promise of providing houses for all citizens. “PM Modi had said that 2 crore houses will be built in city areas and 4 crore in rural areas. He had also said that budgetary provision will be made for the houses. In the 2022-23 budget, only Rs 48,000 crore provision was made for the Prime Minister’s Awas Yojana. Other than making provision, the government did nothing for constructing houses for the poor,” he alleged, explaining that this was because the Ministry of Housing And Urban Affairs has got its deadline of giving houses till 2022. Tiwari alleged that the PM Modi-led government is not giving enough funds for constructing houses. “Then on what basis does the government make the ‘tall claim’ that it will construct 2 to 4 crores houses in the coming 5 years?” he asked. “It’s so ridiculous that after giving assurances in public forums, Modi Govt could not build houses despite being in power for 10 years. The Prime Minister is adept at 'jumle baazi’, uttering blatant lies,'' Tiwari said.
