Union Budget 2023: Opposition rues exclusion of unemployment, inflation; calls it ‘callous’  

• Allocation for the health sector has effectively been reduced by 6 per cent in comparison to last year
• Allocation for the MGNREGA has reduced drastically in this year’s Budget – to Rs 60,000 crore from Rs 89,400 crore last year
• Government is trying to make people move to new regime and do away with exemptions that offer people some social security: PC

While the ministers and the ruling party leaders as well as a set of experts applauded the budget pointing out, among other things, that it has given boost to the middle class, the Opposition parties have rejected the claims. They prominently highlighted the cuts in the rural ministry and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme as well as little focus on employment and inflation.

The Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who presented the last full Union Budget of the Narendra Modi government before the Lok Sabha elections in 2024, has been accused of not paying heed to the growing unemployment crisis and high inflation. The two points largely figured in the criticism of the Union Budget for 2023-34. They are of the view that the government largely ignored the common people and their concerns about lives and livelihood.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that budget was presented keeping in view the upcoming Assembly polls in 3-4 states. There’s nothing in the budget for poor people & to control inflation.

Expressing disappointment senior Congress leader and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram alleged that the government did not bother about the growing inequality between the rich & poor. He said that Nirmala Sitharaman didn’t mention the words like unemployment, poverty, or inequality anywhere in her speech. He said that the Budget has “betrayed” the hopes of a vast majority of Indians.

At a press conference at the AICC headquarters in New Delhi, Chidambaram termed the Budget as “callous”, underscoring that the Finance Minister did not mention the words unemployment, poverty, inequality or equity anywhere in her speech.

“Let me begin by pointing out, with regret, that the FM has not mentioned the words unemployment, poverty, inequality or equity anywhere in her speech. Mercifully, she has mentioned the word poor twice in her speech. I am sure the people of India will take note of who are in the concerns of the government and who are not,” Chidambaram said.

He pointed out: “No indirect taxes have been reduced. There is no cut in the cruel and irrational GST rates. There is no reduction in the prices of petrol, diesel, cement, fertilizers etc. There is no cut in the numerous surcharges and cesses which are, anyway, not shared with the state governments.”

They pointed out that the allocation for the MGNREGA has reduced drastically in this year’s Budget – to Rs 60,000 crore despite the fact that the revised estimate for FY’23 was at Rs 89,400 crore, up from the budget estimate of Rs 73,000 crore. Last year, the Centre had allocated Rs 73,000 crore for MGNREGA and Rs 2,06,831 crore for food subsidies in total.  This year’s allocation is the lowest seen in the last four budgets.

On the other hand other opposition parties say that that budget has not brought any major changes even as alleged that the cuts marginal rise for Women and Child Development Ministry and cuts in health sector are matter of concern. It is to be noted that the budget allocated to the Ministry, the nodal department of the government for the welfare of women and children, stood at ₹25,448.75 crore in 2023-24, an increase of ₹267 crore from ₹25,172.28 crore allotted in 2022-23.  Further, the allocation for the health sector has effectively been reduced by around six per cent, in comparison to last year.

What the other opposition leaders say

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav added that ‘Budget 2023-24 gives disappointment. He said that the BJP is completing a decade of its budgets, but when it did not give anything to the public earlier, what will it give now?  This budget is for the benefit of a few rich people, he claimed.

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati  in a tweet  said, whenever the Centre talks about the figures of beneficiaries of schemes, it must remember that India is a vast country of about 130 crore poor, labourers, deprived, farmers who are yearning for their Amrit Kaal, according to Indian Express.

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and deputy chief minister Tejaswhi Yadav said that the budget is ‘Neel batta sannata’… nothing for Bihar. He said: “All the MPs from Bihar at the Center should be drowned in shame”.

Trinamool Congress leader and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said that the budget ignored common people. She called it “anti-people” and “totally opportunistic.  “This Budget does not address India’s unemployment issue,” news agency PTI quoted her as saying.

CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury asked who will benefit from the Budget. “The richest 10% Indians own 75% of the country’s wealth. Bottom 60% own less than 5%. Why are those who amassed super profits during the pandemic, while joblessness, poverty and hunger have grown, not being taxed more?” he sought to know.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that there is no relief from inflation in this budget. “On the contrary, this budget will increase inflation. There is no concrete plan to tackle unemployment. Unfortunately reduced education budget was from 2.64% to 2.5%. Reducing the health budget from 2.2% to 1.98% is harmful,” he said.

PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti said that the Budget is the same that had been coming in for last 8-9 years. She said: “Money was not being spent on welfare schemes & subsidies.  Instead of benefitting common people, welfare schemes and subsidies are being scrapped. People who had risen above the poverty level have fallen below the poverty level again,” she said.

-INDIA NEWS STREAM