Chandigarh/Shimla, Feb 1 (PTI) Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar termed the interim Budget 2024-25 presented in Parliament on Thursday as “inclusive”, while Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema expressed disappointment accusing the Centre of discriminating against the border state.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said the interim Budget presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is merely a “financial web” to trap people and it has failed to meet their expectations.
Haryana CM Khattar welcomed the interim Budget, and said it will help realise the resolve of a ‘Viksit Bharat’.
“Considering farmers, youth, the needy and women as the centre point, the interim budget presented under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister @narendramodi ji is inclusive,” said Khattar in a post on X.
This budget will prove to be helpful in realising the resolve of ‘Viksit Bharat’ in ‘Amrit Kaal’ and making India more prosperous from the point of view of economy, he added.
Punjab Finance Minister Cheema said the Modi government had only “cheated” Punjab in the last more than nine years and only took decisions that “disappointed and harmed” Punjabis.
“There is nothing for Punjab in the budget. Punjab is not going to get any benefits from it. Injustice to Punjab is pretty evident in the budget,” Cheema alleged.
“The Centre has been discriminating against Punjab,” he claimed.
Cheema said that Punjab is an agricultural state. “Farmers of the country are continuously demanding a guarantee of minimum support price on all crops from the Central government. For this, farmers from across the country protested on the Delhi border for more than a year. But no special provisions have been made for farmers in this budget either,” he said.
Himachal CM Sukhu said the Budget has exposed the anti-poor face of the Union government. Salaried and middle classes have been neglected and no additional tax relief has been given, he said and added that there is no mention of controlling inflation.
The focus of the Budget is to woo the voters rather than to strengthen the economy and once again interests of Himachal Pradesh has been ignored in it despite the fact that the state has suffered huge loss during the recent monsoon disaster, Sukhu said in a statement.
Neither there was any mention of expansion of rail network in the state nor any rapid mass transit system for hilly states like Himachal, he said.
Punjab Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa said there was nothing special visible in the Budget.
Taking a swipe at the Centre, Bajwa said on one side, the BJP-led Centre claimed that the country’s economy could reach USD 7 trillion by 2030 and on the other hand, the prime minister said that the government was giving foodgrain free of cost to 80 crore people.
“It means if 80 crore people out of the total 130 crore population are getting free foodgrain, then one can imagine how much India has progressed. It shows the country’s 65-70 per cent population is under the poverty line,” claimed Bajwa.
Meanwhile, Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar welcomed the interim Budget, saying it is an “exercise in fiscal prudence and pragmatism” focussed on nation building.
The trust of 140 crore Indians in PM Modi’s long-term vision of a resilient India is reflected in the document, he said.
Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij said the Budget will be a stepping stone in the direction of developed India. “This budget focuses on comprehensive development in all sectors with the fundamental principles of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas’,” he said in a statement.
The target of the ‘Lakhpati Didi’ scheme which was initially set at two crore women, has been enhanced to three crore, as this scheme has brought about a significant change in the lives of nine crore women, he said.
“In today’s budget, the government is working with an approach to the all-around development and in the next five years, two crore new houses will be built in rural areas,” said Vij.
Haryana BJP president Naib Singh Saini said the interim Budget will play an important role in making India a developed nation.
In a statement, Saini expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Modi and Finance Minister Sitharaman, while describing the budget as “balanced and development-oriented” in accordance with the hopes and dreams of all the countrymen.
Every section of the society has been taken care of in this budget,” said Saini.
Leader of Opposition in Himachal Assembly Jai Ram Thakur hailed the Budget and said that over 25 crore people have been brought above the poverty line in the past 10 years under the NDA rule which is a big achievement.
Addressing the media in Shimla, Thakur said that one crore houses will get 300 units of free electricity in the coming days through green energy and rooftop solar installation scheme.
BJP leader P K Dhumal said that the budget aims to strengthen the foundation of India by strengthening young, poor, women and farmers.
In a statement, he said the target of making three crore ‘Lakhpati Didis’ has been set in this Budget and now ASHA and anganwadi workers and helpers will also get the benefit of Ayushman Bharat scheme. PTI CHS VSD BPL KVK KVK
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