Opposition terms Uttar Pradesh govt's budget 'directionless'

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Opposition Samajwadi Party and BSP on Wednesday termed the Uttar Pradesh government's budget as "directionless" and a "bunch of promises" ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

The government on Wednesday presented the budget FY24 with an aim to lay the foundation for a self-reliant Uttar Pradesh and focus on the all-round development of the state for making it a USD 1 trillion economy.

The budget of Rs 6,90,242.43 crore for FY24 was the biggest in the state's history.

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav said the budget could not fulfill the dream of making the state a USD 1 trillion economy, while BSP supremo Mayawati said the "illusionary" budget does not have much for the public. The Congress said the budget "only sells dreams" to people and has hoodwinked the farmers and the youth.

"This is a directionless budget. The budget neither has a solution for the existing problems nor can it take forward the policies of the future," Yadav told reporters. "The chief minister and the finance minister who showed the dream of making UP USD 1 trillion economy must tell the people about the existing growth rate of the state and the growth rate required to make UP a trillion dollar economy," he said. I do not see the government achieving the target of USD 1 trillion economy, he added.

The former chief minister said the budget has disappointed farmers, youths and women of the state. Terming the recent global investors' summit organised by the government as a "mela" (fair), Yadav said, "A very large fair was organised recently. This government only knows how to organise melas. The mela was organised and big industrialists were invited. But I don't see anything in this budget that anyone will invest in the state."

He asked what incentives and packages the government has to attract investors to invest in the state in today's competitive market.

BSP chief Mayawati said the budget presented on Wednesday by the state government in the Assembly doesn't have much for the welfare of the people. It is again "vadon ka pitara" (a bunch of promises) for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. 'Will this unrealistic budget satisfy the interests of people or does it care for their welfare. Will it fulfill the claim (of UP) of becoming India's growth engine? Debt-ridden UP needs an employment-oriented budget, not an illusionary one," she said in a series of tweets.

"Keeping in mind the much-publicised announcements, promises and claims of the UP BJP government, its statements and actions to remove poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, backwardness, anarchy etc, the budget is a betrayal of about 24 crore people who are suffering from inflation," she further said. The BSP chief said before the government made "new misleading promises and claims" in view of the Lok Sabha general elections, it did not present an "honest report card" of the previous budget. It shows that claims of an increase in per-capita income and development of the double-engine government was "a false propaganda and a gimmick", she added.

Also read: UP Budget 2023: Rs 1 lakh each allocated for madrassas to set up computer labs

Contrary to the government's claims of making people self-reliant and increasing their per-capita income as well as providing employment to the youths, its wrong policies and priorities has led to rising debts, Mayawati said. "It clearly shows that the government, contrary to claims and propaganda, is failing on all fronts," he said.

Leader of Congress legislature party in the UP Assembly Aradhana Misra claimed that the government spent less than 50 per cent of the previous budget. "It should tell us what its intentions are," she added.

UP Congress spokesperson Ashok Singh said, "This budget only sells dreams to the people. It has deceived the youths of the state, the poor and most importantly the 'annadata' farmers of the state."

President of Rashtriya Kisan Manch Shekhar Dixit, while reacting to the budget, said, "Like the past, this budget has succumbed to statistics management. The farmers have been once again handed over the disappointment, and there are no concrete schemes for them". "It seems the UP's government budget is not a budget, but a poster event for publicity," he added.

Dixit asked the government to issue a whitepaper on what percentage of promises made by it has been fulfilled. Rashtriya Lok Dal UP unit chief Ramashish Rai told PTI, "In the UP budget, neither the issues pertaining to the farmers have been addressed, nor those pertaining to the youth." "There was a hope that in the budget, the government would address the job loss crisis, which had taken place due to COVID-19 pandemic, but nothing happened."

Reacting to the budget, advocate and financial consultant Ashish Kumar Tripathi said, "How much effective will the budget prove in taking UP's economy to USD1 trillion remains to be seen". "Reducing unemployment rate in the state showed fiscal discipline. Provisions made for farmers, women, youth, tourism and giving a boost to the industry is worthy of praise," he added.

He also praised the provision of Rs 700 crore for the construction of court complexes on the basis of a pilot project in the newly created districts.

Meanwhile, former deputy chief minister and BJP leader Dinesh Sharma said the budget will prove to be a "growth accelerator" for the state. In a tweet in Hindi, Sharma said, "This budget will prove to be a growth accelerator. This will prove to be a blessing in the 'amritkaal' for the upliftment of poor, farmers, traders, women and youth."

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