Interim Budget fails to meet expectations of people: Himachal CM

Shimla: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu on Thursday said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting the interim Union budget, failed to meet the expectations of the people.

He said the budget is merely a financial web to trap the people in its luring promises. The focus of the budget is to woo the voters rather than to strengthen the economy.

“Once again, the interests of Himachal Pradesh have been ignored in the budget and not even a single penny has been provided, despite knowing well that the state has suffered a huge loss of lives and property during the recent disaster,” the Chief Minister said.

He said that there was no mention of expansion of the rail network for the state.

“There is also no mention of any rapid mass transit system for hilly states like Himachal where metro rail cannot be started,” he said.

He said that though green and solar energy have been mentioned in the budget speech, there is no clear roadmap as to how the green and the solar energy initiatives will be achieved.

“No additional tax relief has been given to the middle class, though it plays an important role in the Indian economy. The budget has no mention of controlling inflation,” he said.

He said that the prices of LPG were already high and there has been no reduction in the prices of diesel and petrol to provide relief to the common people.

He said that there was nothing for the salaried, the poor and the middle class.

“Only the capitalists and industrialists have been kept in mind in this budget. The budget has exposed the anti-poor face of the Central government,” the Chief Minister said.

The Chief Minister said that besides collecting Goods and Services Tax (GST) of around Rs 1.8 lakh crore, no additional concession has been given in income tax and other taxes.

“The budget has sidelined the health sector as well,” he said.