Rajasthan political leaders give mixed reactions to Modi govt's Union Budget

Feb 01, 2023

Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], February 1 : Politicians of Rajasthan have given a mixed reaction to the 2.0 Modi government's Union Budget presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot launched an attack on the Union Budget and said that the budget is 'a great disappointment for Rajasthan.'
Taking to social media, Gehlot wrote, "If we talk about the Union budget in the context of Rajasthan, then this budget has been a great disappointment for the state."
Stating that people are in a distressed mood in the state, he said, "People of the state are disappointed because the central government did not accept our demands of giving national status to ERCP, an important project related to the development of Rajasthan state."
In the Gehlot government, Cabinet Minister Pratap Singh Khachariawas termed the central budget as 'zero'.
Cabinet Minister Khachariawas said, "This budget of the Central Government has dashed the people's expectations. Neither subsidy has been given on gas cylinders in the budget, nor did the public get freedom from the increased prices of petrol and diesel."
Describing the budget as an illusion of figures, he said that the public would not get anything from this budget.
While Rajasthan Bharatiya Janata Party state president Dr Satish Poonia has described the budget as an 'all-inclusive budget'. Poonia said that the expectations of the middle class and deprived sections would be fulfilled from this budget.
"Every category has got something or the other in the budget," he added.
Meanwhile, on the allegations levelled by Congress leader Pratap Singh Khachariawas, Poonia said that Congress only thinks of the state while the Prime Minister thinks of the whole country.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also hailed the "first budget of Amrit Kaal" and said it would lay a strong foundation for building a developed India.
The Prime Minister said that the budget gives priority to the deprived and will fulfil the dreams of the aspirational society, the farmers and the middle class.
"The first budget of Amrit Kaal will build a strong foundation for building a developed India. It gives priority to the deprived. This budget will fulfil the dreams of an aspirational society including poor people, middle-class people, and farmers. I congratulate Nirmala Sitharaman and his team for this historic budget," PM Modi said in a televised address.
Prime Minister Modi underlined the government's efforts to enhance the lives of women.
"The government has taken several steps to make the lives of women, in rural and urban areas, easy. Women's self-help groups will further enhance them. Special savings scheme will be started empowering women in households," the PM said.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2023 today in Lok Sabha. This was the third time in a row that the government presented the budget in a paperless form.
Highlights of the budget presented by the Union Finance Minister included big incentives under the new income tax regime. The IT rebate limit in the new regime has been increased from
Rs 5 lakh to Rs 7 lakh and the new tax regime will be the default tax regime, the Finance Minister said.
Capital expenditure outlay has been increased by 33 per cent to Rs 10 lakh crore, accounting for 3.3 per cent of the GDP.