Our Bureau
The BJP showcased its rural- and farmer-centric Budget, as also the document’s tryst with the “biggest healthcare scheme in the world” on a day when the Opposition Congress, notching up victories in by-elections in Rajasthan sought to dismiss the ruling party’s policy formulations as a “bunch of jumlas”.
The sheer coincidence of the Congress’ big wins in BJP-ruled Rajasthan on the day of the Union Budget fired up the Opposition, while the BJP marshalled forces to project a “pro-poor, pro-farmer” policy direction.
At meeting of Opposition parties was held at Sonia Gandhi’s residence, where leaders including NCP President Sharad Pawar, expelled JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav, Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’ Brien, RJD MP Misa Bharati, CPI(M)’s Mohammad Salim, SP leader Ramgopal Yadav, CPI’s D Raja and TKS Elangovan of the DMK were in attendance to chalk out a joint floor strategy during the discussions on the Budget.
The BJP Parliamentary Party also met in the evening.
Roadmap to uplift poor: BJP
Party President Amit Shah gave out a six-page statement hailing the Budget as a roadmap to bring development and prosperity to “the poor, farmer, Dalit, tribals and the working class population”.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley underlined the BJP’s “pro-poor” credentials by asserting in the Budget speech that the people belonging to the poor and middle class are not case studies for the ruling party’s top leadership because “they themselves are case studies”, having seen “poverty at close quarters”.
The “pro-poor, pro-farmer” line was carried forward by Amit Shah who said that the “crores of common people associated with the BJP recognise that the Union Budget this year paves the way for empowerment and upliftment of the poorest sections of the population.”
“Special care has been taken to address the welfare of the farmer in the Budget. The government has taken the historical step of increasing MSP’s by 1.5 times over the input cost in the direction of doubling farm income by 2022.”
The BJP President also laid specific emphasis in highlighting the Budget promise to provide support of ₹5 lakh for hospitalisation of the poorest 10 crore families.
‘False promises’
The Opposition, specifically the Congress, seemed set to portray the BJP as a party that “makes false promises”. Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram made a detailed statement underlining that the ruling party has not put its money where its mouth is.
Answering a question about the BJP presenting a “populist” Budget in the last full year of its tenure, Chidambaram said: “It is a defeatist Budget. They have run out of ideas, They have a run out of gas. The government has conceded that after four years, it has failed to substantially address three fundamental issues – agriculture, education and unemployment.”
While Chidambaram elaborated on how each of the ideas that the BJP has hailed as “historic and big” is not followed with allocations and outlays, Congress President Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter to assert that the BJP has done nothing except make false promises in the last four years.
“Four years gone; still promising farmers a fair price. Four years gone; fancy schemes, with no matching budgets. Four years years gone; no jobs for our youth. Thankfully, only 1 more year to go. #Budget2018,” Rahul tweeted.
Clearly, unemployment and farm distress would be the Congress’ main points of attack on the BJP in the days to come, while the ruling party would fashion itself as the “party of the poor and for the poor”.