RSS' labour wing gives FM Sitharaman's Budget 2021 the thumbs down

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its affiliates shared the Congress' concerns over the Budget lacking any relief for the middle class, especially after how it suffered during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), the labour wing of the RSS, criticised the Budget for providing no income tax relief despite the adverse effect of the pandemic.

The middle class has widely supported the BJP since 2014, with it winning convincingly in metro cities in both 2014 and 2019; the Hindu middle class currently comprises a key support base of the RSS and the BJP.

The BMS said aggressive disinvestment plans, an IPO of LIC, the government asking the NITI Aayog to list new companies for disinvestment, and monetisation of government assets “will reduce the charm of Atmanirbhar Bharat and benefits of some good proposals in the Budget.” “None of the demands raised by the BMS and other trade unions has been incorp­orated in the Budget, except a special scheme for tea workers in West Bengal and Assam, thus making the consultation process a mockery,” the BMS general secretary said.

In poll-bound Bengal, the ruling Trinamool Congress sought to punch holes in the Centre’s budgetary allocations to construct highways in the state, and attempted to showcase its record in building and improving the state’s road network.