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Interim Budget ignored Himachal’s interests: Sukhu
The focus of the Budget is to woo the voters rather than to strengthen the economy, said chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu
Himachal chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu described the interim Budget presented by Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday as a “financial trap to lure people”.
He said that the Union finance minister had ignored Himachal’s interest in the budget. The focus of the Budget is to woo the voters rather than to strengthen the economy, said Sukhu.
“Not even a single penny has been provided despite knowing well that the state has suffered huge loss of lives and property during the recent disaster,”he alleged.
He said there was no mention of the expansion of the rail network for the state. There is also no mention of any rapid mass-transit system for hilly states, such as Himachal, where metro rail cannot be started, Sukhu said.
Though green and solar energy have been mentioned in the Budget speech, there is no clear roadmap as to how the green and solar energy initiatives will be achieved, the chief minister said.
No additional tax relief has been given to the middle class even though it plays an important role in the nation’s economy. The budget has no mention of controlling inflation, Sukhu said, adding that the prices of liquified petroleum gas (LPG) were already at a record-high and there has been no reduction in the prices of diesel and petrol.
He said that there was nothing for the salaried, the poor and the middle class and that only the capitalists and industrialists were kept in mind in the Budget. The budget has exposed the anti-poor face of the Union government, he alleged.
