Congress failed to utilise health budget under its rule, says Scindia

New Delhi [India], February 4 : Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Jyotiraditya Scindia on Thursday slammed the Congress for "not fully utilising" the health budget under its rule and said the budget has increased by 137 per cent since last year under the National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) rule.
"When there was United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, the health budget was not utilised fully. Congress-led UPA's 5-year budget was Rs 1.75 trillion while NDA one-year health budget is Rs 2.23 trillion, there is a 137 per cent increase from last year," said Scindia in the Rajya Sabha.
Responding to the opposition parties' criticism over the central government's vaccination drive, he said: "When the country is battling COVID, the opposition is busy pointing fingers. First, they questioned lockdown and then the unlock phase. Despite Congress MP Anand Sharma appreciating lockdown measures in his report, the party alleges vaccine politics."
The farmers' issues dominated the agenda of the opposition parties during the Upper House proceedings as leaders like Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Kumar Jha and Janata Dal (Secular) MP HD Devegowda asked the government to resolve the matter with protesting farmers.
Rajya Sabha meets for five hours daily in accordance with COVID-19 protocols in place.