India News | Rajasthan: BJP Says Budget Disappointing, Lacks Clarity on Bringing State's Economy Back on Track

Jaipur, Feb 23 (PTI) The Rajasthan BJP on Wednesday termed the budget for the year 2022-23 presented by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot disappointing and said it did not offer a concrete plan to bring the state's "shaky" economy back on track.

State BJP chief Satish Poonia said the chief minister was good at making announcements but there was a difference between his words and deeds.

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Gehlot presented the budget in the Rajasthan Assembly with the main focus on health, education, infrastructure and tourism sectors and social security.

Poonia said the government did not make clear from where it will get the money to fulfil the announcements made in the budget.

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"The chief minister is good at making announcements. There is a difference between his words and deeds. Announcements have been made as if the elections are due tomorrow," he said.

"Farmers and the youth of the state are angry and ready to oust the Congress in 2023 for not fulfilling promises," he said.

Announcements pertaining to education and health sectors were made but the government has not made sincere efforts to develop infrastructure. Schools do not have basic facilities like toilets, classrooms, drinking water, electricity, library and laboratory, Poonia alleged.

Senior BJP leader and former chief minister Vasundhara Raje said the budget was disappointing, lacked policy and seemed to be driven by politics.

"I would only say that this is not a budget for policy. According to me, it is a budget for politics," she told reporters.

Raje said that this time, a separate budget was presented for farmers, but it lacked vision.

Deputy Leader of Opposition in the Rajasthan Assembly Rajendra Rathore said the budget was full of fancy announcements and was aimed at deceiving the common people.

"Like the last three budgets, in budget 2022-23 too, the government could not present any concrete action plan to bring the state's shaky economy back on track," he said.

The state's first separate agriculture budget did not provide a full loan waiver or any special provisions for farmers. The farmers were cheated by presenting the old schemes in a new format, he said.

During the almost three-hour budget speech, Gehlot announced the launch of the Indira Gandhi Urban Employment Guarantee Scheme to provide 100 days of employment in urban areas.

Another major announcement in the budget was that all employees appointed on or after January 1, 2004, will be covered under the old pension scheme from next year.

In the first agriculture budget, Gehlot announced an allocation of Rs 5,000 crore for 'Rajasthan Mukhya Mantri Krishak Saathi Yojana', up from Rs 2,000 crore in the last budget.

He also proposed Rs 2,700 crore for the Rajasthan Micro Irrigation Mission, under which 5 lakh farmers will be benefitted, and announced the increase in the number of employment days under MGNREGA to 125 from 100.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)