Mumbai, Feb 1 (PTI) The Shiv Sena on Tuesday dubbed the Union Budget as “very depressing”, saying it has neither given any relief to the middle class nor it has any reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of making India a USD 5 trillion economy, while Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar claimed there was nothing in the budget for the state.
The NCP, which shares power with the Shiv Sena and the Congress in Maharashtra, said the budget, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament, was a huge “disappointment” for the common citizens, who are reeling under high inflation and expected some tax relief.
Shiv Sena MP Vinayak Raut said the Union Budget for 2022-23 only has jugglery of words like the PM-Gati Shakti and Aatmanirbhar Bharat, while old schemes were presented as new ones.
“The budget is very depressing. During the coronavirus pandemic, people of the country paid Rs 1.40 lakh crore as GST but, unfortunately, the schemes that were to be implemented with regard to taxes do not find a place in the budget,” Raut told reporters.
He claimed the budget has “misled” people.
The budget has given no relief to the middle class with regard to the income tax. There is no reference to the prime minister’s vision of making India a USD 5 trillion economy, Raut said.
After the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly elections, the Shiv Sena snapped ties with its long-term ally BJP. The Uddhav Thackeray-led party has since then severely criticised policies of the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre.
Raut’s party colleague and Sena MLC Neelam Gorhe said the budget was just a document making tall but hollow claims.
The budget has failed to look into the concerns of farmers over crop insurance and it has no clarity on Railway’s schemes, she said.
Gorhe said there was no word in the budget on paying GST compensation to states.
Deputy chief minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar claimed Maharashtra contributed Rs 48,000 crore to the central kitty in the form of GST, but it got only Rs 5,000 crore in the Union Budget, which he said, reads like an election manifesto with no relief for middle class tax payers.
In a statement issued after the budget, Pawar, who is also the state’s finance minister, said injustice has been done to Maharashtra.
“It seems the Union government has decided to continue its tradition of neglecting Maharashtra in its budgetary provisions like the previous ones. Maharashtra contributed to the tune of Rs 48,000 crore to the Union government’s total collection of Rs 2.20 lakh crore (so far) in the current fiscal (2021-22). However, Maharashtra has received only Rs 5,000 crore in return,” Pawar said.
“Injustice to Maharashtra has continued this year also. No matter how much one would search (in the budget), you will not find anything that benefits Maharashtra,” claimed the finance minister.
He said the budget was silent on states’ demand for refund of Goods and Services Tax (GST).
“The Union government claimed to have tabled a development blueprint for the next 25 years. However, it has only presented an election manifesto ahead of polls in five states,” Pawar said.
Pawar said there was no relief for middle class tax payers or announcement of slashing fuel prices in the budget.
“The corporate tax has been slashed from 18 per cent to 15 per cent. Taxes on diamonds are proposed to come down, but no relief has been provided to middle class tax payers,” he said.
NCP Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule tweeted: A ‘futuristic ICT budget’, in which we hope the deliverables are a reality, not just VR (virtual reality)?! Good luck.
Maharashtra minister and NCP’s chief spokesperson Nawab Malik said the Union budget has come as a huge disappointment for the common citizens, who are facing high inflation and expected some tax relief.
This budget has nothing to offer to the youth, farmers or the middle class. This is a big disappointment, Malik told reporters.
He also expressed concern over the Union government’s increased focus on information technology.
“Before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised generation of two crore jobs every year. However, today’s budget talks about generating 60 lakh jobs. Was the earlier announcement a mere jumla (rhetoric)?” the NCP minister asked.
Malik said the Modi government has also proposed an initial public offering (IPO) of the LIC, which is one of the most trusted state-run organisations in the country.
“It seems that the Union government wants to raise funds by selling state assets,” Malik said.
Maharashtra NCP president and minister Jayant Patil, in a tweet, said it was an ”election manifesto” and not the country’s budget. PTI PR ND GK RSY RSY
