February 1, 2023
There is no ray of hope in this year’s Budget: Mamata Banerjee
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee kept forth her views on this year’s Union Budget in Birbhum today.
Highlights of what she said:
There is no ray of hope in this year’s Budget, it is as dark as a new Moon night. This is an opportunistic Budget.
There has been big-time inflation, hence the tax break given is useless.
The state’s money which is picked up by the Centre must be returned. But that is not happening.
I have no problems with acting against real criminals. Yesterday, there were raids across the whole country. May I ask why? Is the government running out of funds that they now need to snatch from people?
The non-BJP states are being deprived. There is a plot to do away with ICDS, and that’s why allotment for it has been reduced. The Centre has also stopped paying ASHA workers.
Mothers and sisters, what is the price of a gas cylinder now? Is it Rs 1,100? Or Rs 1,120? Or is it Rs 1,170? The price has been increased by Rs 70 over a period, and reduced by just Rs 4. But they will say, so haven’t we reduced it? Are those of you who started getting cylinders under the Ujala Scheme still getting them? The answer is no. This Budget is not a futuristic one, but totally opportunistic.
Has the Union government kept even one of the promises it made? After coming to power for the first time, an amount of Rs 15 lakh per person was promised to be transferred to a person’s bank account. Have any of you received it? Anyone? No. What else was said? That two crore people would be given jobs every year. Rather, there has been a reduction of 40 per cent in employment.
