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During a heated debate in the Rajya Sabha, opposition politicians lambasted the government's handling of soaring unemployment rates and dwindling purchasing power, claiming the budget fails to address pressing issues for the urban youth. In contrast, ruling party members hailed the budget as a visionary approach towards social welfare.
New Delhi: On the third day of the budget debate in the Rajya Sabha, Opposition members slammed the government on high unemployment and one of the lowest per capita purchasing power while the Treasury bench members lauded the Narendra Modi dispensation for a “progressive” and welfare-oriented budget.
TMC member Saket Gokhale charged the government with spending too less on education and virtually ignoring research and innovation, leading students to move to developed nations for higher education.
“The Union Budget sells a delusion and not a dream. The problem with BJP is that it has one leg in 1947 and the other in 2047, nothing in the present. They will either talk about what happened 50 years ago or they will make promises about 2047 which we may or may not see…they have nothing to offer to the urban youth of India in the present,” Saket Gokhale said.
Comparing the present dispensation with the regimes of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh, the TMC leader said earlier the policies mattered, not personalities. “Today our discourse has become totally personality oriented. The budget is also personality oriented,” he said.
Gokhale maintained that the youth are not able to relate to this budget. “This budget has nothing as far as the young are concerned. In America they had a concept- the Great American Dream… In the last nine budgets, there is nothing on what is the Great Indian Dream. This government has no vision for it. The problem is the government does not know the difference between dreams and delusions. The government has its delusions which it tries to sell as dreams which it might achieve in 2047,” he said.
Referring to Indian students going abroad for studies, Gokhale said countries around the world- be it US, Canada, Australia or others- are tightening visa regulations for foreign students. Indian youth is desperate to leave the country as developed nations reward critical thinking and innovations. “These countries create ecosystems which enable students to achieve their full potential so that they do not just acquire degrees but skills which help them in the job market,” he said.
Noting that the education budget this year is Rs 55,000 Crore, he said only 0.7% of this is for innovation and research. He said the US spends 6.34%, South Korea 4.96%, and China- whose economy is four times bigger than India- spends 2.5% of its GDP on education.
He slammed the government on high unemployment and under employment. On purchasing power parity, India is ranked 123th he said.
BJP member Ashok Chavan described the budget as progressive. He thanked the Narendra Modi government for the bullet train project and said the reduction in travel time should be commended. He made some suggestions to the government, including laying down railway tracks to connect Nanded with Bidar and Latur, and implementing the Bhayantar scheme for farmers started by Shivraj Singh Chouhan in Madhya Pradesh as chief minister across the country.
Deve Gowda praised the budget and its focus on improving ease of living for the people. He made “constructive” suggestions to the government. Growth alone is not enough and the government should ensure skilling of people as well as strengthening the MSME sector as this will create more jobs, he said. The JD(S) supremo cautioned that the government should not confine itself with merely the announcements of investment but also focus on job creation.
Gowda lauded the simplification in filing of income tax but also warned that there should be safeguards in place to ensure the honest taxpayer does not feel anxious. The former prime minister also emphasised that life in cities should be made better by dealing with water scarcity, climate change and pollution, among other challenges.
Gowda said just as a Makhana (foxnut) Board has been established in Bihar, steps should be taken for jackfruit farmers of South Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
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Source: EconomicTimes
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