Naveen Pans Interim Budget; Gives It 2.5/10

Bhubaneswar: The Narendra Modi Government’s last budget presented on Friday was panned by the opposition parties, including Odisha Chief Minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik, who gave it 2.5 on a scale of 10.

Even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi described it as a budget for New India, Naveen termed it as “disappointing”, and said that it lacked initiatives for the landless poor, sharecroppers and MSMEs. He, however, welcomed the direct benefit transfer for small and marginal farmers on the lines of the KALIA scheme and tax benefit for the lower and middle income group.

The interim budget presented by interim Finance Minister Piyush Goyal has proposed an annual cash transfer of Rs 6000 to farmers who owes less than five acres of land and income tax benefit on annual income up to Rs 5 lakh. The proposals will benefit 12 crore farmers and about three crore income tax payers.

In his reaction, the Odisha Chief Minister said the State will be hit with a short fall of Rs 26,340 crore as per the budget estimates for 2019-20. He said that while the 14th Finance Commission recommended a total transfer of over Rs 1.84 lakh crore, during the award period of 2015-20, however, based on the actual receipt and for 2015-18, the revised estimates of 2018-19, the state was going to receive only about 1.75 lakh crore.

Naveen said he was deeply disappointed with the national social security scheme which has not been revised at all. While the State Government is covering 48 lakh beneficiaries with Rs 500 per month, the Centre is giving Rs 200 per month for 20 lakh beneficiaries only.

Similarly, he said the allocation for MGNREGA is lower than the allocation in the revised estimate. This will adversely affect timely wage payment.

The budget allocation for rural connectivity, rural housing and drinking water have been reduced or have remained at previous level. This is not encouraging, he said.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi alleged that the government had destroyed the lives of farmers over the past five years. Its Interim Budget announcement of “₹17 a day” for them was an insult to everything they stood and worked for, he said.

“Dear NoMo, 5 years of your incompetence and arrogance has destroyed the lives of our farmers. Giving them ₹17 a day is an insult to everything they stand and work for,” Gandhi tweeted using hashtag ‘AakhriJumlaBudget’.

Former Finance Minister in the UPA regime, P Chidambaram said the interim budget was not a “vote on account but an account for vote”. Former Prime Minister Manmohah Singh described it as an “election budget”.

West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee said the Interim Budget for 2019-20 had absolutely no value as the term of the NDA government would end soon. “Who will implement this (Interim Budget)? Will the new government that will come into being implement this budget? Before election a vote on account is placed,” she said.

TDP MP Y S Chowdhury “It’s not a budget. It’s the government’s attempt to apply band aid over the wounds it inflicted in the last five years. The budget should have been limited to vote on accounts and not announce policy decisions, “It is a violation of rules,” he said.

“The last Budget of the BJP government before the elections is far from the ground reality and the bitter truth, and is mostly jumlebazi,” BSP Chief Mayawati said.

“Jumlebazi cannot change the destiny of the country and end longstanding problems like poverty, unemployment and inflation,” she said.