MUMBAI — The ruling MahaYuti welcomed the Interim Budget - 2024-2025 as common-man oriented and laying the foundation of a self-reliant and strong India, while the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi slammed it as full of empty promises and giving 'gyan', here on Thursday.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said that the interim budget will take the country closer to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's goal of making India a superpower and a $5 trillion economy.
"It is comprehensive, gives justice to the common people, women, youth, the elderly, farmers, workers and all others. Not changing the direct and indirect tax structure is a relief to commoners. The move to amend the schemes introduced in the last ten years to avoid the loss of farmers, more arrangement of godowns, self-sufficient oil seed campaign, comprehensive scheme for dairy farmers will definitely help the farmers to stand on their own feet," said Shinde.
The CM highlighted other proposals like benefits for women, Anganwadi Sevikas, the universal cancer scheme for women, housing for poor, the interest-free loans scheme for the youth, the increase in IITs, IIMs, promotion of electric vehicles, and other that would boost development.
Congress' Leader of Opposition (Assembly) Vijay Wadettiwar attacked the interim budget as meaningless, cheating the farmers, youth and commoners, while giving an impression of creating development.
"It's a last-ditch attempt to show day-dreams to India. The Bharatiya Janata Party government cares for and stands only behind its rich business and industry friends. The corporate tax is reduced but not tax exemption granted to the masses. The Interim Budget is a statement on PM Modi-led government's failure in the last 10 years," declared Wadettiwar.
He said ironically, the government claims that 20 crore people are lifted out of the poverty line, yet they are giving free foodgrains to 80 crore people, which means that the number of poor have actually increased in the country, but the BJP creates a religious frenzy to divert attention.
"The budget will further widen the schism between the rich and poor, the future of farmers and agriculture, industry, the growing number of jobless people, infrastructure, investors and other sections appears bleak, the tradition of doing injustice to the backward classes, minorities, farmers continues in the latest Interim Budget as well but Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was indulging in 'self-praise' over broken dreams," said Wadettiwar.
Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Leader of Opposition (Council) Ambadas Danve said the country expected new schemes and financial provisions for peasants and agro-sector, but nothing has been given.
"Modi government has again shown it is insensitive towards the farmers by not making any provision for them. Without coming up with any concrete plan for rural areas, farmers and farm labourers, Modi government is under the impression that it will be re-elected only by talking of religion," said Danve.
Bharatiya Janata Party's Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis said that the Interim Budget has paid special attention to all sections like women, farmers, poor, youth and the middle classes.
"It is envisaged to provide free electricity upto 300 units through solar power system to one crore families, housing schemes for the poor and middle-classes in urban centres who live in chawls or rentals, the Rs 1 lakh-crore corpus for interest-free loans to youth is revolutionary and many will become entrepreneurs, boosting the startup ecosystem and research," said Fadnavis.
He lauded the proposal to make three-crore women millionaires under the 'lakhpati didi programme', include 9 crore women to the economic centre-stage through SHGs, etc as other major highlights in the confidence-boosting presentation.
Nationalist Congress Party (AP)'s Deputy CM Ajit Pawar lauded the Interim Budget as instrumental in laying "the foundations of a developed India by 2047", and giving top priority to the welfare of the poor, women, youth and farmers.
"The financial assistance to 11.80 crore farmers through Pradhan Mantri Kisan Yojana, benefit of PM crop insurance scheme to 4 crore farmers, special efforts to produce mustard, sesame, sunflower, groundnut, soybean oil seeds in the country under self-sufficient oil seed campaign, comprehensive scheme for dairy farmers, etc are highly laudable. The move for 3,000 new ITIs, 7 IITs, 16 IIITs, 7 IIMs and 15 AIIMS plus 390 universities will promote higher education, and enhance the quality of education," said Ajit Pawar.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi slammed the budget saying: "In this chilly weather, they have poured cold water on peoples' expectations, and this is happening consistently for the past 10 years… even the policies announced by the PM in 2014 are yet to be fulfilled."
Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi President Prakash Ambedkar said that the government is only giving 'gyan' (smart-talk) but nothing tangible for the deprived sections of the country, Sitharaman engaged "only in self-patting, rhetorics and lies" in the Interim Budgets.
"If the economy is performing well then why 12,88,293 high-net-worth people and entrepreneurs have left India in last 9 years? Why 725,000 people, mostly from Gujarat, tried to enter the US illegally. The government only imparts 'gyan', but has cheated all sections of society," said Ambedkar sharply.
SS-UBT MLA Aditya Thackeray said the government has realised after a decade in power that they need to focus on the poor, women, youth and farmers, all of whom had voted for BJP with great hope, but are still unhappy.
"The FM spoke about UDAN and rapid airport expansion, but why Maharashtra was not considered an equal part of the entire scheme, now word on Pune's proposed new airport and the one mooted by the MVA government was scrapped," said Aditya Thackeray.
Congress Legislative Party Leader Balasaheb Thorat termed the Interim Budget as a 'slap' on the people of India who are already burdened by high inflation, growing unemployment with women, middle-classes and farmers continuing to suffer.
"There is no relief from the funds owed by the Centre to the states, which will make it difficult for the latter to progress. It's a disappointing and losing budget, but the BJP leaders are cheering it through the media," said Thorat.
Congress Chief Spokesperson Atul Londhe said that this is another example of unkept promises of the last 10 years of 'jumla-baazi', this is the last time Sitharaman has played the joke on the masses. Dwelling in detail on various proposals, he mentioned aspects of the critical financial position of the country, the debt of Rs 205 lakh-crore and the International Monetary Fund's warnings to India of the looming dangers.
"Sitharaman said one crore households will be given free solar energy upto 300 units, but in the Union Budget 2022, it was promised to get 40GW of rooftop solar power, of which only 10GW was generated, and later this was changed to 2.2GW. Rs 22,000 crore loans are said to be given through the Mudra Yojana, but most of these accounts are NPAs, only 17.8 per cent of announcements made in the Union Budget of 2023-2024 have been implemented," said Londhe.
(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at: q.najmi@ians.in)