Torrent of assurances but no clarity on how money will be raised: Oppn

Mumbai: The opposition in Maharashtra on Friday targeted the Eknath Shinde government over its last Budget before the state goes to the polls later this year, describing it as a “torrent of assurances” but said there was no clarity on how the money will be raised for the schemes announced.

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who holds the finance portfolio, earlier in the day presented a Rs 20,051 crore revenue deficit Budget in which he announced sops for women, youth and farmers and other segments of society that entail an outlay of more than Rs 80,000 crore. Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray said the budget was a “false narrative” pretending to offer something to every section of society. Talking to reporters at the legislative complex here, the former chief minister said the ‘Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin’ scheme under which a monthly allowance of Rs 1,500 would be given to the eligible women was a “pitiable attempt” to woo women voters ahead of the Assembly elections.

Thackeray asked why similar allowance was not announced for men as unemployment was on the rise, and said nothing was being done to create jobs. “The Budget is a torrent of assurances. It is a fake attempt to take all sections of society along. It is what (deputy CM) Devendra Fadnavis calls ‘false narrative’,” Thackeray said. A committee of experts should be formed to find out how many of the schemes announced by the BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP ‘Mahayuti’ govt in the last two years were implemented, said Thackeray.