CM Terms Union Budget as Anti-farmer, Disappointing
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has termed the Union Budget 2009-10 as anti-farmer and disappointing from people’s point of view saying that the central government has shown no sincerity towards curbing rising prices and economic recession.
Chouhan said that at the first glance, it seems that the central government does only lip service for farmers, for it has levied a heavy interest of 7% on agricultural loans amounting to over Rs 3 lakhs while state government has cut down interest rate to as low as low as 3%.
He emphasized that relief for farmers is a crying need of the hour but whatever fringe benefit is given to farmers in the Budget is announce without classifying them. Subsidy is necessary for them.
The Chief Minister said that under NREGS, only 100-day employment is being given while at least 200-day employment should be given and rural labourers have also not been underlined. He stressed that the Budget failed to provide relief expected by cross section of society.
He revealed that Madhya Pradesh had demanded Rs 24 thousand crores for executing essential works in drought affected areas of the state but the central government showed insensitiveness to the issue maintaining a silence.
Chouhan said that Ladli Laxmi Yojana is being praised all over the country but Centre has not launched any such scheme, which shows that the central government is indifferent to girls and women. Similarly, SCs and STs have not been given any priority.
As for corporate sector, solid steps are missing to give impetus to the sector, the CM said, adding that the Budget is utterly disappointing from employment point of view, too. He described relaxation in income tax limits as pea nuts. No measure has been taken to promote print media but ignorance of electronic media is a discrepancy.
Describing Budgetary deficit as enormous, Chouhan called for curtailing it. He has also termed the Budget as disappointing from the point of view of infrastructure development.
