Delhi: Opposition in Lok Sabha on Thursday accused the government of slashing expenditure on various social sector schemes, cutting food and fertiliser subsidies and burdening the common man through the latest budget by doing nothing to check rising prices.
They were also critical of the government on the black money issue saying the common man has got nothing despite the Prime Minister promising Rs 15 lakh in their accounts sooner than later by bringing back the black money stashed abroad.
Initiating the debate on general budget, Congress member Shashi Tharoor took a dig at the government for its failure to bring back black money stashed abroad, saying "only Rs 30 per person has been collected as against the promise of Rs 15 lakh for each bank account holders."
People are still waiting to get Rs 15 lakh in their bank accounts but some senior BJP leader now say that was only a 'political jumla (phrase)', he said.
Terming the budget as "political budget which is not for common man", Tharoor cited examples to say that even Sub-Saharan Africa spent 7 per cent on health and education while India has allocated just 4 per cent for this.
The allocation for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan has also been cut, he said.
"Prime Minister said Budget is an exam. I would say he must try harder... when will government talk about common man when PM talks 'Mann ki Baat' and FM talks about finances," he said.
Tharoor also talked about LPG gas connection and inflation among other things.
At the same time he raised a question mark over the GDP target set by the government saying growth.
Watch Tharoor's full speech below:
And for those who would rather watch and hear it, the video of my Budget speech in the LokSabha today, incl shairis: https://t.co/fCC9bzu9OE
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) March 10, 2016
(With PTI inputs)
