the opposition has slammed it as direction less and anti people budget.
Commenting on the budget Prime Minister said that it met all the challenges that the economy faces today including sustaining high growth rates. He said that adequate provisions have been made for infrastructure and social sector as well as agricultural development.
Dr. Manmohan Singh said it is important to curb inflationary expectation and for this it is necessary to consolidate fiscal deficit.. He said that Mr. Pranab Mukherjee has done a commendable job on this front.
He said, the budget signals that the government is reform oriented. He said, the Finance Minister has talked about plans to bring in legislation like one on insurance and pension fund regulation. On black money, he said that it has to be dealt in a holistic manner.
However the Opposition has dubbed the General Budget 2011-12 as directionless, saying it has brought no relief to the common man and nothing has been done to curtail inflation.
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj (BJP) said, “It is a very, very disappointing budget, which has not done justice to the common man, woman and the youth.”
She added that the only thing good was the rise in remuneration of Anganwadi workers and helpers. Another Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Finance minister Yashwant Sinha termed the Budget ‘timid’, reflecting the personality of the incumbent minister.
BJP veteran Dr Murli Manohar Joshi said the budget has nothing for the poor and the farmers.
Senior Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Gurudas Dasgupta has termed the budget is directionless, and added that the Finance Minister has not outlined from where he would mobilise the resources.
JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav said the Government has not proposed any steps to bring back black money or to fight corruption.
“Even the Rs 25,000 crore given for the anti-Naxal operations does not seem to be adequate,” he added.
RJD Chief Lalu Prasad, however, said he was happy about the Budget but would be happier if certain bills proposed in it come through. He welcomed Budget proposals for providing cash subsidy in fertilisers, LPG and kerosene directly to the consumers.
Decrying the Budget as an ‘anti-people’ one, CPI (Marxist), in a statement, said: “The Union Budget 2011-12 fails to address the serious problems affecting the people and the economy…..the massive Rs. 20000 crore cut in major subsidies for 2011-12 on fuel, fertiliser and food, from what was spent in 2010-11 (Revised Estimates), come as a rude shock. The cut in food subsidy by Rs. 27 crore clearly exposes the Government’s lack of willingness to enact meaningful food security legislation.”
“Overall, the Budget reflects the abandoning of the aam admi agenda by the UPA-II Government and its pursuit of an aggressive neoliberal agenda,” it added.
Samajwadi Party spokesperson Mohan Singh said the Budget was not aimed only at the state elections, but looked more like one ahead of General Elections.
Meanwhile finance minister Pranab Mukherjee reiterated the UPA Government’s commitment to take further the process of economic reforms. The Prime Minister has said that the budget for the year 2011-12 meets all the challenges that the economy will face in the next fiscal. He said that adequate provisions have been made for infrastructure and social sector as well as agricultural development.