Opposition boos BJP's attempts to woo public

BJP supporters celebrate the budget presentation outside the party office at Churchgate

The Opposition and even BJP's estranged ally Shiv Sena have slammed the Modi government's interim budget, calling it an attempt to woo voters without addressing their woes.
The Modi government left no stone unturned to please every section of the public during the vote-on-account budget presentation, but the Opposition said the provisions were merely made to mask the failures of the BJP, while the Sena questioned the credibility of the budget, saying it was another farce ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

Sops rained in for the farmers, workers in the unorganised sector, the middle-class taxpayer, and the real estate industry. All of them have something to be happy about, which is the reaction that in-the-election-mode BJP had anticipated, hoping to take the wind out of the Opposition's sails ahead of the polls in April-May. But the Opposition doesn't seem too impressed. Milind Deora, former union minister, said, "Slow growth, no jobs, rural distress, tax terrorism, and industry expectations find no answers in today's budget speech. The outgoing going government has painted a picture that is untrue and unrealistic. It has dismissed and disregarded ground realities and has misled and misinformed people of India... The budget is a long copy advertisement of India Shining 2.0."

Maharashtra thinks...
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, whose government will present a vote-on-account budget later this month in the Maharashtra Legislature, taking a cue from the Centre's presentation, said the common man was the Modi government's primary focus.

"The budget reflects an honest effort to upgrade the living standard of the common man. It shows our deep concern for the development of farmers, labourers, salaried class, women and the rural class," said Fadnavis. Ashok Chavan, state Congress president and the party's top runner for CM in Maharashtra, said, "The poor will get nothing and farmers have been fooled. This is nothing but yet another jumla." Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, Opposition leader in the state Assembly, said the budget was a meaningless exercise and a poor attempt to prevent a miserable loss in the polls. "It's a dream that will never come true," he said.

Sena unimpressed
Even the Sena, which is being wooed into an alliance by the BJP, slammed the budget. Party spokesperson Dr Neelam Gorhe said the budget was as farcical as the promise to build a Ram temple in Ayodhya. She said, "There is a question mark on the credibility of the BJP government, which has been making anti-labour laws and protecting bank defaulters. The government beats a snail's pace in implementing the schemes. "Crushing defeats in the Assembly polls have left the BJP without any option but to make announcements that amount to economic blunders and faulty planning. Where are jobs? Why has the statistical report not been tabled? This is nothing but breaching the trust of the people."

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