Uttarakhand Congress terms Budget 'directionless'

The opposition Congress in Uttarakhand today expressed disappointment over the Union Budget proposals presented in Parliament, saying they were "directionless and regressive".
"Reflecting its obstinacy, the Centre has presented a budget which is directionless and regressive. It will obstruct development and give rise to inflation and unemployment," Pritam Singh, president of the Pradesh Congress unit, said.
Alleging that the Budget ignored youth and farmers, he said it made no provision for re-employing people rendered jobless after closure of small industries due to demonetisation of high-value currency in November 2016 and implementation of Goods and Services Tax in July last year.

It also makes no provisions for generating employment in the agricultural sector, Singh said.
He said the Budget was aimed at helping capitalists.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today presented what would be the BJP government's last full budget before the general elections, due next year.
The Budget proposals showed a shift in the government's focus towards de-stressing the agriculture sector and the rural economy. The proposals included a new health insurance scheme for the poor, but provided little relief to the middle class.