Budget lacks vision, economy will contract, says Left

Two Left parties on Monday said the 2016-17 general budget lacks "vision" and will lead to contraction of the Indian economy.

"This budget is going to create greater economic inequality and will lead to further contraction of economy," Communist Party of India-Marxist secretary general Sitaram Yechury said on Monday.

"The indirect taxes have been increased. When you need the domestic economy to grow, you are doing the exact opposite. This will lead to contraction of domestic demand as the purchasing power will become lesser," he said.

Yechury said much of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's speech on Monday in the Lok Sabha was "political".

Communist Party of India (CPI) leader D. Raja said the budget "did not have anything spectacular".

"Because of the people's movement outside, the finance minister tried to show they are giving preference to agriculture," Raja told IANS.

"There is nothing spectacular about the budget," he said.