Bilaspur
Bilaspur city MLA Shailesh Pandey described the Union budget tabled by the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1 as an election budget which has been prepared keeping in mind the assembly elections of nine states this year followed by the general elections in 2024.
Basic needs and real issues are not touched by the central government in the budget, he said adding , there is no mention about inflation, unemployment, health facilities and public facilities. The budget does not connect the poor and the general public, he said. On the other hand, the budget will benefit the private sectors, he said.
Pandey said that such budgets bring instability in the country and the state because of its negative impact on the life of the common people, middle class and poor people . The budget is far from practical. He said that the Finance Minister said that the budget of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana has been increased by 66%, but the Prime Minister has become a victim of corruption.
Many laws have been scrapped to facilitate the traders. It has already been said that this government is the government of traders. 50 new airports will be built but who are going to be benefitted from these projects.
Leaving aside the expansion of railway facilities, the facilities for the upper class are being increased, he said. He said that the Center will continue to give interest-free loans for 50 years to the state governments for one more year. Crores of rupees of the Government of Chhattisgarh are with the Government of India, which has not been paid yet, he said.
Millets to be named ‘Shri Anna’, Hyderabad’s center of excellence will work to make India a global hub, but Chhattisgarh government is already working on Millets. He said that for 740 Eklavya Model Residential Schools, it has been announced to recruit 38,000 teachers and supporting staff in the next 3 years. While crores of people are already facing the brunt of unemployment, it is far from reality. He said that things useful for everyday and poor people’s lives were to be made cheaper, which would directly benefit the people, but the government has not taken any such decision.
Now those earning Rs 7 lakh annually will not have to pay any tax. There is no sense of such announcements when people have no source of income. The central government should have worked on how people can earn and increase their income, he said.
