'Damp squib' to 'pakodanomics', how Opposition mocked Interim Budget 2019

Soon after Finance Minister Piyush Goyal's Interim Budget 2019 speech, political leaders from Opposition parties came down heavily with wide-ranging criticism. Here's a list of who said what

Last Updated : Feb 01 2019 | 7:30 PM IST

Opposition leaders came down heavily on the Narendra Modi government's Interim Budget, accusing it of allotting a paltry amount as income support for farmers and keeping silent on unemployment.

Finance Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday presented the Interim Budget in the absence of Arun Jaitley, who is in the US for medical treatment. He announced Rs 6,000 annual cash support for farmers and provided tax relief for the middle class.

Here is what Opposition leaders had to say about the Interim Budget 2019:

'Rs 17 a day an insult to farmers'

Congress President Rahul Gandhi said that Modi government's scheme to provide direct income support of Rs 6,000 per annum was an "insult" to farmers.

Taking to Twitter, Gandhi said:

Click here to read more on what Rahul Gandhi said

'Modi govt only understands pakodanomics'

Former finance minister P Chidambaram mocked the Modi government's Interim Budget, saying that it remained silent on jobs and education. "It (Interim Budget) was not a Vote on Account. It was an Account for Votes," he tweeted.

"There is nothing about jobs because if they say anything about jobs the youth will dismiss it as 'pakodanomics'," said Chidambaram.

He said that the government has further weakened fiscal stability and for the second year in succession, the government has missed the fiscal deficit target.

All of the announcements are "last-gasp announcements" by a government whose term will effectively end in about 90 days, Chidambaram said.

Click here to read more on what Chidambaram said

Interim Budget 2019 a 'damp squib'

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor termed the Interim Budget 2019 a 'damp squib' and nothing close to 'real terms'.

He said that the government had promised a separate Ministry of Fisheries in their 2014 campaign but it backed away from that commitment and instead announced a separate department.

"There is a lot of fantasy language and castles being constructed in the air. There is very little actually happening in real terms," Tharoor said, according to news agency IANS.

However, he said that the only good thing was the tax exemption for the middle class.

Interim Budget a 'Jumlaa Bullet Express'

Terming the Budget as 'Jumlaa Bullet Express', Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel sought an explanation from the government on its promise to provide Rs 15 lakh in the account of every citizen.

He said that before proposing to build 100,000 villages, the government should first inform how many smart cities it had built in the past five years.

'Budget an attempt to apply band-aid'

Telugu Desam Party MP Y S Chowdhury tweeted in Telegu that the Budget was an attempt by the government to apply band-aid over the wounds it had inflicted on the people in the past five years.

He also said that the Budget should have been limited to vote on accounts and no policy decisions should have been announced.

ALSO READ: Budget 2019 Live: Cash for farmers, tax cuts 'just a trailer', says PM Modi

'An attempt to rub salt'

Former Aam Aadmi Party MLA Yogendra Yadav termed the Interim Budget 2019 an "attempt to rub salt in the wound of farmers."

'Promised Rs 15 lakh, gave just Rs 500 a month'

Rajya Sabha MP Ahmed Patel tweeted that they promised Rs 15 lakh to farmers but gave only gave Rs 500 a month. After the twin effects of demonetisation and goods and services tax (GST), this Rs 500 is peanuts.

Referring to the recent 10 per cent quota reservation, he said that on one hand, the government terms those earning less than Rs 800,000 economically backward, but the Budget does not say that.

ALSO READ: Interim Budget 2019: No income tax on income of up to Rs 5 lakh a year

'Jumlebazi cannot change the destiny of the country'

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MP Mayawati dismissed the Interim Budget 2019 as 'jumlebazi' that did not address the country's long-standing problems like unemployment and inflation.

She claimed that the benefits of government schemes failed to reach the needy and only benefitted the capitalists.

Click here to read more on what Mayawati said

'Budget proposals will never get implemented'

Expressing confidence that BJP would fail to return to power in the upcoming polls, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee reportedly said that "the Budget proposals will not be implemented".

She also mentioned that the Budget failed to provide extra funds for MGNREGA and that there had been no increase in fund allocation for rural development programmes. She also said Swachh Bharat Mission received 25 per cent less allocation and the fund allotted for skill development scheme was less.

"This Budget is a farce and (election) manifesto of BJP to cheat people," Banerjee said.

Click here to read more

Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath and the Aam Aadmi Party termed the Interim Budget 2020 as the "final jumla" of the Modi government.