Mumbai: The ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra slammed Monday the Union Budget 2021-2022 of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as a ‘national betrayal’. The MVA said the Union Budget has been made as a ‘letter of intent to sell off government assets’ and doing ‘injustice’ to Maharashtra. The MVA is made up of the Shiv Sena, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress. The BJP unit of Maharashtra on the other hand termed the union Budget as path-breaking and all-inclusive.
The president of the Maharashtra unit of the Congress, Balasaheb Thorat said the Budget is a ‘letter of intent’ to profit by selling off top government companies in the guise of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ and doling out largesse to states going to elections this year.
NCP leader, Deputy Chief Minister and Maharashtra Finance Minister Ajit Pawar also criticised the budget. He said the Centre has continued the tradition of injustice to the women, backward classes, tribals, and minorities. He added that Maharashtra which contributes the highest revenues to India has got nothing.
Pawar said that the Centre’s financial performance is the worst in the country till date. In such a scenario, the claims of the Finance Minister Sitharaman are nothing but words and dreams.
Shiv Sena leader Kishore Tiwari attacked the budget labelling it as ‘a national betrayal’. He said it is a complete ‘eyewash and hostile to the farmers’.
Maharashtra PWD Minister Ashok Chavan targeted the Budget and said it reflects the six overall economic pillars of the BJP-led Central government. He said that the budget is for the wealth and wellbeing of select capitalists, harassment of farmers and traders, selective development eyeing Assembly elections in some states, depressing human capital, revising R&D to mean ruining and destroying economy, and maximum promises with minimum performance.
Lauding the Budget, BJP’s Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis termed it as innovative with several positive proposals for the countrymen. He also appreciated Sitharaman’s decision to allocate Rs 2,092 crore for the Nashik Metro and Rs 5,796 crore for the Nagpur Metro-Phase II.
“We are happy that the Centre appreciates our innovative approach and accepts the Nashik Metro model as a national project, to be implemented in other cities. Both the (Nagpur-Nashik) metro proposals were sent during the BJP tenure,” a pleased Fadnavis pointed out to mediapersons.
Shiv Sena MP and chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut strongly criticised the budget. He said it had nothing for the poor, the middle-class or migrants who were the worst-hit during the Coronavirus pandemic last year. He pointed out that there is also nothing for the farmers who are demanding the repeal of the three farm laws.
