What's Budget needed for when promises remain unfulfilled: Uddhav Thackeray

Union Budget this year has 'completely forgotten' farmers, youth & senior citizens, alleged the Sena

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Stating that the Centre's note ban decision "pick-pocketed" the common man while big defaulters remained unaffected, Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday sought to the know the need for a Budget every year "when the previous promises are not fulfilled".

"The troubles that people had to face due to demonetisation can never be compensated. The government might say that deposits have increased manifold but the truth remains that the big money defaulters have been kept aside while common man was pick-pocketed," Thackeray said.

"Why did they not announce in the previous Budget that they would be demonetising currency," he asked.

"When last year's announcements remain unfulfilled, what is the meaning of this budget? When you do not fulfil the promises you make, what is the need to present the Budget every year," he further questioned.

Sena MP Arvind Sawant also picked holes in the Union Budget, saying it has "completely forgotten" the farmers, youth and senior citizens.

"While the Budget has given relief to salary earners, it has completely forgotten farmers, youth, senior citizens and women with no substantial provisions for them," he said.

Even though Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has announced that the skill-training sector will continue to remain high on priority, with rural areas set to get more attention, Sawant claimed that the sector had "failed miserably" during the present government's tenure.

Questioning Jaitley's assertion that affordable housing will get infrastructure status, the Sena MP sought to know from the Centre how many affordable houses have been built so far.

"There are announcements on the housing sector for the poor. But, how many houses have actually been built in the last two-and-a-half years? At many places, houses have been built but the people are yet to get possession. At many places, it is also seen that the area of the house grossly differs from the area promised," he said.

Sawant also said making budgetary allocations for the construction of toilets will do no good unless the water problem was sorted out.

"Even today, I see men, women and children defecating in the open. Places where there are toilets, nobody can use them as there is no water. How will constructing new toilets help, unless the problem of water is sorted out," he wondered.

On the Railway Budget, the Sena MP said, "We are yet to understand what has been announced in the budget."