Expressing disappointment over the interim budget presented by the BJP-led Central Government, Delhi’s Finance Minister Atishi termed it rhetorical as it does not provide any tangible solution to unemployment and health and education sectors remain ignored. “This budget presented by the BJP led government is a testament to the fact that this government is a government of ‘Jumlas’ (empty promises). This budget is a bag of empty promises/ jumlas. It shows that the Modi government has yet again crushed the hopes of poor and unemployed youth – the same way they have been doing for the past 10 years.”
Delhi’s Finance Minister Atishi expressed her disappointment over the general budget presented by the BJP-led Central Government. “This budget presented by the BJP-led government is a testament to the fact that this government is a government of ‘Jumlas’ (empty promises). This budget is a bag of empty promises/jumlas. It shows that the Modi government has yet again crushed the hopes of poor and unemployed youth – the same way they have been doing for the past 10 years.”
“In 2014, Modi Ji affirmed to solve the crisis of unemployment, promising 2 crore jobs every year. By that calculation, 20 Cr jobs should have been generated by 2024, 10 years have gone by where are the jobs? Have the people of the country received 20 crore jobs? It would be a great surprise if the Modi Government provided even 1 crore jobs to the youth of the country,” she added.
The Delhi Finance Minister continued, “Forget private sector jobs, 10 Lakh central government positions are lying vacant till date. The government could have easily filled them in 10 years. But they haven’t. This is a betrayal of the promises made to youth. However, the Modi government admitted last year in the Parliament that only 1.25 Cr jobs were created in India since 2014. This shows the reality. Today the youth is neither getting employed in the private sector nor the government sector. Today the government has initiated a new ‘jumla’ that will provide 55 new jobs. It has become clear that India, under the Modi government, is undergoing ‘Jobless growth,’ where a growing workforce is struggling to secure employment even as GDP continues to rise (7.2% growth in 2022). That means only the rich friends of Modi ji are growing, not the average Indian.”
Minister Atishi further added that in the past 10 years of the Modi government, India has seen the highest inflation in the past 45 years. 10 years ago people of the country weren’t as vulnerable to Inflation, as they are today. Today Atta (Wheat Flour), pulses, vegetables, LPG, petrol, and diesel are so expensive that the common people cannot run their families. For the first time in India’s history, the Modi government imposed GST on atta, pulses, rice, milk, dahi etc. This has further added to food inflation. Once again, no action was taken on this front. But despite that, there was no mention of how to tackle inflation in today’s budget. The poor were expecting some relief on prices of petrol, diesel and LPG – but no action whatsoever has been taken in this budget.
“Even though the Modi government has done nothing on this front for the past 10 years, being a pre-election budget, it was expected that some relief would be provided to the poor and middle class this time. Unfortunately, non tax relief whatsoever has been provided to the aam-aadmi. We all know that the taxes of corporations will be heavily reduced in 2019, but all the burden has shifted to the middle class” she added.
Speaking on Delhi’s interest in the budget, the Delhi Finance Minister expressed that the Modi Government has continued its step-motherly treatment toward Delhi. If Delhi were to get its rightful shares of the central taxes which Delhiites pay in the form of income tax, then Delhi should receive ₹15,000 crores from the central government. But only ₹1,000 crores have been allocated. While all urban local bodies in the country have funds allocated under the Budget, not even a single rupee has been allocated for the municipal Corporation of Delhi. “It’s a step-motherly treatment against Delhi. However, the Delhi government is committed to the overall development of Delhi. We will keep working for Delhi,” she said.
“They talk about ‘Viksit Bharat’ but they have not increased any allocation for Health and Education. Education and Healthcare as a share of the total budget is merely 2.51% and 1.98% respectively. It has been 4 years since the NEP was announced with the ambitious target of ensuring that 6% of the GDP was allocated to education. But little progress so far,” the Delhi Finance Minister stated.
As for the extension of the Ayushman Bharat scheme to include Anganwadi Workers, Ms Atishi said, “The terms and conditions to be eligible for the Ayushman Bharat scheme are not reasonable. They ask whether the family has a TV, fridge, cooler, 2-wheeler, etc. So, for whom the Ayushman Bharat scheme is meant. No announcement on the inclusion of the middle class and people without health insurance in the scope of Ayushman Bharat. Only Anganwadi and Asha workers will get benefits, what about the others? ” she reasoned.
Speaking on the budget for farmers, Minister Atishi said, “In February 2016, PM Modi had promised the doubling of farmers’ income in the year 2022. We are in 2024, and they have done nothing for the farmers apart from bringing in the three ‘kaale kanoon’. Over 700 farmers died demanding MSP on many crops, no mention of that. To date, the government has only been giving vague statements, with no implementation plan. The government will promote private and public investment in post-harvest activities including aggregation, modern storage, efficient supply chains, primary and secondary processing and marketing and branding. The government makes tall claims of supporting the farmers, however, allocation under the PM Kisan scheme continues to be the same as last year. Where is the money to support the farmers?”
