Union Budget 'disappointing', people's hopes dashed: Maha govt

The Maharashtra government today termed the Union Budget as "disappointing" and said it has dashed the "hopes" of the common man from the BJP-led NDA regime at the Centre.
"The Finance Minister did not care to specify how exactly does he plan to reduce the fiscal deficit of the country. Only proposing smart cities, cleanliness and good roads does not mean anything.
"They (BJP) had been claiming to bring in big ticket reforms if they came to power. But it was just a dream that was shown to people," Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said here.
He added that the UPA government with its Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission had initiated the concept of changing the face of Indian cities while they were in power at the Centre.

Chavan said that the Finance Minister failed to address how he would practically bring in metro trains in major cities of the country.
"The Finance Minister said that he proposes to bring in metro trains in more cities. But by merely providing Rs 100 crore for the project, how will he fulfil the dreams that he has shown to the people," he said.

Chavan alleged that the BJP-led government in its budget has only copied and reiterated with "new names" what the previous UPA government had proposed in its budget speeches.
"Many proposals that the FM has presented have been taken from the previous government's budget. They have only changed the names and introduced schemes," he said.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar described the Union Budget as "disappointing", stating that it would derail the country from its growth track.