It would only be apt to call the Union Budget 2022 as the Budget that forgot the welfare of the people, said Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin in a press release on Tuesday, February 1. His reaction came after the Budget was tabled by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Parliament. “There is no change in the slabs for personal income tax; no welfare schemes announced for those who lost their lives protesting against the three farm laws; no fund allocation for any projects proposed by Tamil Nadu government, especially the state’s new railway schemes. No fund allocation for disaster relief funds, including relief for rainfall. This Budget has caused disappointment to the state and its people,” the CM said.
“Reducing the funds for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) to Rs 25,000 crore despite requests to expand the scheme to town panchayats, not only shows that it is an attempt to block the scheme, but also shows the thought that people belonging to lower strata in the society should not even have ‘one paise’ in their hands,” he commented. He also criticised the lack of fund allocation or new announcements for states volunteering to bring forth changes related to climate change, despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi talking about it in several international conferences.
He further added that there were no schemes to help people who suffered economic losses due to COVID-19 or provide direct financial assistance or schemes to help MSMEs in the Budget. “The Union government has not taken any attempt to face the economic deficiencies faced by the state governments,” Stalin said.
The CM added that the Union government has forgotten to announce any schemes that will give ‘hope’ to the public, and has neglected the expectations of the public given that Assembly elections are to be conducted in five states. “Such a Budget can only be called a budget that forgot the welfare of the public,” he said.