Trinamool slams budget, calls it lengthy speech without vision

Trinamool Congress on Monday slammed the Budget 2019-20 presented by the Union Government and called it a long speech without vision.

Taking part in the debate on Budget 2019-20, Trinamool's Kalyan Banerjee also hit out at the government for raising cess on petrol and diesel by Rs 1 per litre and criticized the government on employment and education front.

"Ever since I have been seeing the Budget speeches, I have never such a speech which is so lengthy and does not have any details or indication regarding how this object will be achieved," Banerjee said in Lok Sabha.

Criticising the government over prices of fuel prices, he said the increase has been nearly Rs 2 per litre and along with VAT and cess the increase comes to Rs 2.5 per litre.

"It is having a tremendous effect on the daily lives of the people of the country. All will be affected. Each and everyone will be affected. Although in the world market the price of crude oil has not increased," he said.

He said during the last five years the petrol price has been increased nine times while it has been decreased only twice.

The senior Trinamool leader said that the Budget was completely a visionless budget and in fact, the total vision is derailed.

"This is not at all a growth-oriented budget. The Finance Minister had given thanks to the honest taxpayer. If the taxpayer deserves thanks from the Finance Minister, why tax relief has not been given to the persons who earn more than Rs.5 lakh a year?" he asked.

Banerjee criticised the budget for being focussed on corporates.

"For disinvestment, you are selling the national property and thus selling the country. Air India was once compared with British Airways. Today, you want to sell it," he said.

"Building the nation is not the responsibility of the taxpayer alone. Building the nation is also the responsibility of the Ministers. They must say that they give up their salaries for building the nation," he said.

Banerjee criticized Budget over its silence on unemployment, reduced interest rates of provident fund, fixed deposits and other tools of investment and saving.

.