Jaipur, Mar 01: Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot has criticised the Union budget saying it is "anti-common people". The Union finance minister has unsuccessfully tried to make the budget look `people-friendly', providing no concrete proposals for common people and farmers whose problem would only be increased, Gehlot said in a statement here.
By proposing one per cent cut in interest rate on small savings and increasing service tax from five to eight per cent, the budget had put more burden on the people, he said. There has been no (no) proposal for finding permanent solution to the drought and famine affecting many parts of the country, he added.
The state governments facing severe financial crisis find no relief in the budget. In the name of fiscal reforms, the Centre imposes several restrictions on the states but its own fiscal deficit continues to soar, he said. The budget is also silent on the promise made by the Centre that funds collected by way of disinvestment of public sector undertakings would be spent on development works, Gehlot said.
Bureau Report