After Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Budget for 2022-23 on Tuesday, February 1, the Telangana government has strongly opposed the plan. Terming it a “Golmaal Budget”, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said that it has disappointed people of the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Backward Classes, farmers and other minority communities.
“The entire Budget speech by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is full of hollowness and is nothing but a jugglery of words. The Union government through the Budget has heaped praises on itself while putting the common man to depression and unhappiness. The Budget, which can be called a Golmaal Budget, did not project the facts,” KCR said in a statement, after the Finance Minister finished presenting the document.
He added, “The measures taken by the Union government in the Budget for the welfare of the farm sector is nil and a big zero to the farming and agriculture sector. The Budget has nothing to offer to the handloom sector. The Budget left bitterness among the employees and the small traders. It is unfortunate that the Budget did not change the income tax slabs.” He also claimed that the Union government has “no direction or intent”, and that the 2022-23 Budget is “useless and purposeless”.
He also said that employees and the trading community were looking forward to a change in the income tax slabs. But similar to last year’s Budget, there was no change in the slabs for personal income, and corporate taxes rates were kept the same as well. However, the concessional rate of 15% has been extended by one year for newly incorporated manufacturing units.
CM KCR also took objection to the fact that no mention of public health expenditure was made during the Budget, amid the third wave of COVID-19 infections. “All over the world during the coronavirus pandemic health and infrastructure sectors are being developed; our Union government did not even think on those lines. And it is unfortunate. With coronavirus in the backdrop, no efforts were put into developing the medical and health sector in the country. It is surprising that the Union government is not bothered about public health,” the CM said.
Taking a dig at the Budget, former MP and daughter of KCR, K Kavitha, in a tweet asked if the Union government will provide funds to Telangana at least this year towards the state’s flagship drinking water project ‘Mission Bhagiratha.’ Last year too, the Telangana government had expressed disappointment over the Union government for denying funds to the project.
CM KCR’s flagship project MissionBhagiratha is a pioneer in providing piped water to every household. @NITIAayog recommended ₹19,205Cr to Telangana 4 years ago,at least this year will the Union Govt provide the recommended funds to Telangana under ₹60,000Cr of #HarGharNalSeJal pic.twitter.com/BjSnPQVRye
— Kavitha Kalvakuntla (@RaoKavitha) February 1, 2022
“CM KCR’s flagship project MissionBhagiratha is a pioneer in providing piped water to every household. @NITIAayog recommended ₹19,205Cr to Telangana 4 years ago,at least this year will the Union Govt provide the recommended funds to Telangana under ₹60,000Cr of #HarGharNalSeJal,” she wrote in a tweet.