Terming it the “farewell budget” for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Uttar Pradesh, Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said higher allocation numbers are meaningless when actual expenditures in key state government departments hover around 50-60%.
Addressing a press conference at the SP headquarters in Lucknow, the Kannauj MP said, “This is a farewell budget of this government and it will ensure the BJP leaves the state. The government claims the budget exceeds ₹9 lakh crore, but if you compare the expenditure of key departments, it is only around 50-60%. It is a governance failure that previously allocated funds have not been fully utilised.”
“The BJP government speaks of a trillion-dollar economy, but to achieve this the growth rate would need to be around 30%. The government talks about per capita income but remains silent on the income of those receiving free rations. If MoUs worth ₹50 lakh crore were signed, why is nothing visible on the ground? The new US deal will be a setback for our farmers and the MSME sector,” he added.
The SP chief also said the BJP had failed to fulfil promises made in its Sankalp Patra (manifesto). “It seems the BJP has forgotten the promises it made to the people of the state. What about the free LPG cylinders promised on Holi and Diwali? The government has compromised our markets and handed them to foreign interests,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}The SP chief also said the BJP had failed to fulfil promises made in its Sankalp Patra (manifesto). “It seems the BJP has forgotten the promises it made to the people of the state. What about the free LPG cylinders promised on Holi and Diwali? The government has compromised our markets and handed them to foreign interests,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, Congress Legislature Party leader in UP Aradhana Mishra ‘Mona’ described the state budget presented on Wednesday as “dry, hollow and directionless”, claiming that it offered nothing new.
Speaking to HT, the Congress MLA said, “They have just allocated funds to already existing schemes. Out of the entire budget of ₹9 lakh crore, only ₹43 crore have been set aside for new schemes. This is less than even 5%. This is the last budget of this government as they are not going to come back.”
“If you analyse the budget, there is nothing new in it. The marriage scheme has been there for a while. The government had earlier surrendered around 40% unutilised funds which the government claims will bridge the deficit,” she added.