Haryana budget mere rhetoric, anti-farmer: Cong

Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Thursday said the budget presented by the BJP-JJP government in Haryana has left every section, particularly farmers, "empty handed" and was a mere rhetoric.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, who holds the finance portfolio, presented a Rs 1.83 lakh crore budget for 2023-24. He announced several new initiatives while laying emphasis on various sectors, especially social, agriculture and youth and also proposed no fresh tax. 

"The budget has left every section empty handed. The BJP-JJP government has reduced the budget to a mere rhetoric because what is said in the budget is never implemented on ground," the former chief minister said in a statement.

The government considers the budget "only a formality" and never shows seriousness about implementing the promises and the announcements made in it, he said.

Senior Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) leader Abhay Singh Chautala dubbed the budget as a "jugglery of figures" and claimed that cuts have been made in allocations to some sectors. He also claimed that the budget has left various sections disappointed.    

The Congress leader said the government has proposed Rs 20,340 crore for education, which is just two per cent of the state's GDP, while the new education policy recommends spending six per cent.  

"Similarly, the government has announced to spend Rs 9,647 crore on health services, which is only 5.2 per cent of the budget, whereas in the National Health Policy 2017, eight per cent expenditure on health services was recommended by the year 2020 only," Hooda said.

Talking about the agriculture sector, the government has proposed Rs 7,342 crore on it, he said.

"This is just 3.9 per cent of the total budget while 60 per cent of Haryana's population is dependent on agriculture. It is unfair to spend less than four per cent for such a large population. Not only this, this budget is also completely silent on the promise of doubling the income of the farmers. This attitude of the government reflects its anti-farmer and anti-agriculture mindset," he said.

"It has become clear from the budget that debt is continuously increasing...Due to increasing debt, the government will have to spend Rs 56,769 crore only in paying its principal and interest," Hooda said in the statement.

He said the Congress demands that the government issue a white paper on "rising debt".

Hooda claimed that this budget will prove unsuccessful even in stopping rising inflation.

"In the neighboring state of Rajasthan, the Congress government has announced to give LPG cylinders for Rs 500 and the people of Haryana were also expecting such an announcement from the state government," the Congress leader claimed.

The hopes of the people have been "washed away" as the government did not even announce a cut in VAT to give them relief from the high prices of petrol and diesel," Hooda said.

"The government has left the people suffering from inflation and to fend for themselves," he stated.