Shiv Sena lauds budget but unhappy over service tax hike

BJP ally Shiv Sena today said the budget presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today gave hope on many counts, however, it should have avoided the hike in service tax.
"There are several hopeful things about the budget. But we feel it would have been better if the service tax hike had been avoided," Sena spokesperson Neelam Gorhe said here.
"Also, we feel people should be given relief by reducing petrol and diesel rates to curb inflation," Gorhe said.
The budget acts on the premise of good governance and faith reposed by people in the government which elected it to power.

"Be it bringing back black money, providing housing to all by 2022 or schemes for farmers, senior citizens and women, the budget has many hope-giving things," she said, citing the PM Vidya Laxmi scheme for needy students.
For farmers, there is soil health card scheme while the drip irrigation scheme funds too have been raised, Gorhe said.
"Jaitley has also doubled the budget of the Nirbhaya fund to Rs 2,000 crore from Rs 1,000 crore," she noted.