Owaisi flags issue of Budget outlay for Minority Affairs Min

AIMIM member Asaduddin Owaisi Tuesday said budget allocation to minority affairs ministry has not been increased for the current fiscal.

Participating in a debate on 2019-20 Budget in the Lok Sabha, Owaisi also said subsidy for Haj pilgrimage has been cut to Rs 89 crore from Rs 500 crore and the government should utilise the unused money in building schools for Muslims.

He said the Government has stopped coming out with the figures of number of jobs created for minorities.

"The Budget has increased allocation for every Ministry, except the Ministry of Minority Affairs. You are targeting a USD 5 trillion economy, but without participation of 14 per cent Muslim population it will not be an inclusive development," Owaisi said.

He said the Government had promised to give scholarship to Muslims every year, but that promise too was not kept.

N K Premachandram (RSP) said that the Budget was opaque and lacked transparency.

He demanded to know from the government the loss to the exchequer on account of extending the lower 25 per cent corporate tax benefit to companies with turnover of Rs 400 crore, from the earlier turnover threshold of Rs 250 crore.

Questioning the target set in Budget to make India a USD 3 trillion economy in thge current fiscal, Premachandran said the economy has to grow at 11.11 per cent to achieve the target.

India is now a USD 2.7 trillion economy.