Never before the Union Budget came in for such sharp criticism as it did yesterday’s budget. It was dubbed as poll budget as there were elections in several states soon. Eyeing the Karnataka elections, the Central government made huge allocations for agricultural development there.
Panchayat Raj minister Errabelli Dayakar Rao said the Centre is reducing funds for the MNREGS. It owed Rs. 800 crore to Telangana. In the current budget, it made a mere Rs. 60,000 crore which is nearly Rs. 30,000 crores less than the last year.
MLC K Kavitha sought to know if it was the union budget or the budget meant just for a few states. The Rs. 10 lakh crore meant for infrastructure development should be explained, whether the funds are meant for their corporate friends.
Minister Indrakaran Reddy said the Centre as usual discriminated against Telangana. It neither announced any new projects nor assured to sort out the bifurcation issues.
Minister T Harish Rao, senior leader B Vinod Kumar and others said despite regular requests from the state, the Centre did not bother to pay any heed to the needs of Telangana state.
Minister Koppula Eshwar said by reducing the funds for BC welfare, the BJP government belittled the communities.
The budget lacked any vision for the future or steps to check inflation. The prices continue to skyrocket. It only envisages more borrowings thus throwing the country into the debt trap.
By Gollapudi Srinivasa Rao