The first budget of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third term has been greeted with disdain by the newly strengthened opposition. While the Congress has been sharp in its criticism, its Indian camp allies have been unanimous in saying that this is a “save chair” budget. The term has been coined by Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress, with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav agreeing. But his complaint was somewhere else.
“It is understandable that they have to save their government and give special packages to Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, but in a state like Uttar Pradesh which gives the country its own Prime Minister, is there anything for farmers here?” Mr Yadav told reporters today.
“This is their 11th budget and it is strange that people are still alive. The problems that were there earlier – inflation, unemployment (are still there). If we look at Uttar Pradesh, what is the investment situation? They talk big. About the numbers, but none of their major projects have been completed,” he said.
Mr Yadav was also critical of the government’s massive skilling program with the help of the private sector.
He said, “They created unemployment for 10 years. And they hope it will be resolved now, that too with piecemeal jobs. The youth of the country need stable jobs. They can offer one-year nominal training. Have been.”
Ms Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress was sharp. Senior party leader Kalyan Banerjee took a dig at the special package for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, calling it a “chair-saving budget”.
“He has presented a budget for allies which will save their seats. This budget is to keep his NDA allies Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu happy,” he said.
The adjective ‘save the chair’ was also used by Rahul Gandhi.
“Save the chair” budget.
– Please allies: empty promises to them at the expense of other states.
– Make your friends happy: Benefit to AA, no relief to the common Indian.
– Copy and paste: Congress manifesto and previous budget.
– Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) 23 July 2024
The Congress has also alleged that the government’s key skill development announcement has been directly omitted from its manifesto. Party chief Mallikarjun Kharge has called it a copy-paste budget.
“I am happy to note that the Hon’ble Finance Minister has read the Congress Manifesto Lok Sabha 2024 after the election results. I am happy that he has virtually adopted the Employment Linked Incentive (ELI) mentioned on page 30 of the Congress Manifesto… Alas, The Finance Minister would have copied some other ideas in the Congress manifesto. I will soon list the missed opportunities,” posted former senior party leader P. Chidambaram on Twitter.
Trinamool’s Kalyan Banerjee also said there is nothing for Bengal, where the BJP has lost ground. He said, “This budget is not for India. They have given nothing to Bengal. They cannot tolerate Bengalis. BJP will be wiped out from Bengal.”
Former Bihar Chief Minister and RJD leader Rabri Devi said the support of Rs 26,000 crore allocated to Bihar for the development of important projects including road connectivity and infrastructure is a “jhunjhuna” (baby jhunjhuna).
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a big package for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, including infrastructure boost and special financial assistance.
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