Mamata Banerjee terms Union Budget 2023 'anti-people' and 'opportunistic'

Banerjee said the Budget will not help address the country's unemployment issue and had been prepared with eye on 2024 polls

Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday termed the Union budget as being ‘opportunistic’ and ‘anti-poor’ as she questioned the Centre’s stand over several issues.

“This Budget is not futuristic, rather, it is totally opportunistic. There is no ray of hope in this budget. Instead, there is only darkness. This is an anti-poor Budget. Poor will be deprived, while only one class of people will benefit from this Budget,” the Bengal Chief Minister said, addressing a gathering in Birbhum district.

Banerjee also attacked those calling it an ‘exceptional budget’. “We have 3.7 crore unemployed youth in India. There was not a single word about unemployment and jobs. The handful of jobs that we had has also been abolished. The central government has sold off everything. The central government sectors have also been sold through independent investment,” she said.

The chief minister said that the rural jobs fund, last year, had been reduced to an extent. This year, however, the reduction has been drastic. “Centre claims they have reduced the price of cooking gas. What is the price of LPG cylinders now? You have to pay Rs 1,170 for one cylinder. They have hiked the price by Rs 70, but reduced a meager Rs 4. Now they will ask for votes based on this,” she said.

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Banerjee mentioned that the Centre claims it will create 81 lakh self help groups, but the groups are created by the states, and not the Centre. “When we came to power in Bengal, there were 1 lakh SHGs. Today, we have 11 lakh SHGs. The Centre has conveniently included these figures in this year's Budget. Where is the Centre’s credit here?” Banerjee said.

Trinamool MP Sukhendu Sekhar Ray expressed concern about the expenditure for development. “Rs 45.03 trillion is the budgeted expenditure for 2023/24. Out of this, Rs 32.35 trillion will be consumed towards non development expenditure. Bifurcated calculations of the number 32.35 are: (all in trillion of rupees) 10.80 (interest payment), 7.44 (establishment expenditure of the central government), 4.33 (Defence), 3.74 (Subsidies), 3.70 (Grants), 2.34 (Pension)."

"These leave only Rs 12.68 trillion for developmental expenditure," Ray said, adding that, "Out of this amount, the Budget documents claim a sum of Rs 10 trillion are to be utilised for capital expenditure. That would leave a sum of Rs 2.68 trillion for developmental expenditure.”