From 'disappointing' to 'development-oriented,' here’s how political leaders reacted to Union Budget 2021

BJP on Monday hailed the Union budget and said that it will provide a major boost to India's infrastructure, agriculture and healthcare. Congress strongly criticised the Union Budget, saying FM's speech was oblivious to the declining GDP and the budget was a case of "wrong diagnosis and prescription".

NEW DELHI: Senior BJP leader and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday hailed the Union Budget as one for 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat', and asserted that this will strengthen the economy. Ruling party leaders lauded the budget for its focus on a number of measures, including capital expenditure, tax exemption for senior citizens and incentives for start-ups among others.

BJP general secretary Bhupender Yadav said the Union budget will provide a major boost to India's infrastructure, agriculture and healthcare. BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain praised the budget's emphasis on affordable housing for all and said it is sensitive to the needs of diverse sections of society.

Party leader Jyotiraditya Scindia said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has presented a well laid-out plan to get the economy back on track. "A forward-looking budget. It will make good on the government's USD 5 trillion economy promise. Multiple pluses: increased govt spending in major sectors like infrastructure, agriculture and healthcare; safety net expanded for the vulnerable; & opportunities for greater private investments," he tweeted. 

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said the Union Budget will prove to be a milestone in upgrading India's economy and will ensure the development of all sections of society.

"The general budget is in accordance with the expectation of public welfare, inclusive and 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' (self-reliant India). The budget has taken care of every class including farmers, middle class, poor, women," he said in a series of tweets in Hindi.

It will speed up the economy and financially empower every citizen of the country, he said. "This (budget) will prove to be a milestone in upgrading the Indian economy. Through this, all-round development of all sections of society will be ensured," Adityanath said.

Meanwhile, the Congress on Monday strongly criticised the Union Budget, saying Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's speech was oblivious to the declining GDP and the budget was a case of "wrong diagnosis and prescription".

"The FM could have been brave but chose to be timid. The nation needed a bold budget and more direct transfers to the weaker sections to revive demand, restart job creation," senior Congress leader and Deputy Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma tweeted. The budget is "disappointing" and without a roadmap for accelerating growth and revival of consumer demand, he said.

Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari also alleged that the budget was a "national monetisation plan - shorthand for National Sell out" and there was "no central focus in Budget".
"FM's Talkthorn (sic) oblivious that the growth rate of GDP is in a record 37th-month decline.Worst Crisis since 1991. Except for a National Monetisation Plan - shorthand for National Sell out no Central Focus in Budget. Bottom line-Will not grow economy but sell the family silver," he tweeted.

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor also took a dig at the Centre over the budget, saying "this BJP government reminds me of the garage mechanic who told his client, 'I couldn't fix your brakes, so I made your horn louder'."

Another Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill said the budget has left the middle class "bruised and wounded" by not changing tax slabs, not increasing deductions, not making new deduction slots like home loans, not bringing fuel under GST, not sharing Rs 19 Lakh crore gain from fuel taxes, not reducing GST rates.

"After promising a century, FM is out hit wicket at Zero !! Instead of calling it a 'budget of the century' it will be remembered as 'blunder of the century' by BJP Govt #Budget2021," he tweeted.

"Budget case of 'wrong diagnosis and wrong prescription' by the BJP government which instead of healing, reforming and rejuvenating has chosen to adopt a damaging, disappointing and destroying approach to push the economy further into the vortex of recession," he tweeted. 

Samajwadi Party spokesman Sunil Singh Sajan said that the budget had nothing concrete to offer to farmers except jugglery of statistics. He said that the budget had not given any tax relief to the salaried sections and the unemployed youth.