UP budget an election 'gimmick': Cong

Opposition parties Thursday criticised the Yogi Adityanath Government's budget saying the "populist" financial plan in election year will not stand it in good stead as welfare works and law and order situation are of greater importance for the people.

The Uttar Pradesh government Thursday presented a Rs 4.79 lakh crore budget for 2019-20, and announced populist schemes ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. The annual budget presented by finance minister Rajesh Agarwal in state Assembly is 12 per cent higher than the 2018-19 budget of Rs 4,28,384.52 crore. The budget includes new schemes totalling Rs 21,212.95 crore.

"However populist the budget might be in an election year, the works all through the year relating to peoples welfare and interest, and control over law and order are important for the common people," BSP president Mayawati said in a tweet.

Reacting on the budget presented in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly, Mayawati said both the central and state governments have proved to be failures on these issues.

'Only taking a dip at the Sangam will not wash off the sins of the governments ... people are very wise and know everything," she added.

Terming the budget an election "gimmick", Congress spokesman Ashok Singh said it is aimed at befooling the people.

"The Yogi Adityanath government has also indulged in selling dreams to people of the state. There has been no major investment in the state... no generation of jobs... the law and order situation is yet to show any improvement," he stressed.

Rashtriya Kisan Manch, an organisation of farmers in the state termed the budget as "game of statistics".

"The budget presented by the Yogi Adityanath government is nothing but game of statistics, through which the state government has very cleverly dodged the farmers. Until and unless, the UP government makes any concrete roadmap chalking out the future strategy for welfare of farmers, such budgets will continue to remain a gimmick," Shekhar Dixit, president of Rashtriya Kisan Manch told PTI.

The UP government has been unable to control the intermediaries, and if it fails to do so, there will be no difference between this dispensation and the previous ones, Dixit said.

"The farmers of the state have now started understanding that they are being befooled, and they cannot be fooled any longer," Dixit said.