No talk about unemployment during FM's Budget speech: Rahul Gandhi

Taking a jibe at the Central government over Budget 2020-21, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday claimed Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had not even mentioned once the issue of unemployment during her three-hour-long budget speech.

"During those three hours when the Budget was announced, the Finance Minister did not once mention about unemployment," said Gandhi at a rally here in Jangpura ahead of Assembly polls in Delhi.

Referring to Sithraman's recent interview, he said: "In an interview, Finance Minister was asked how many jobs were created? She said, "If I give you any number, Rahul Gandhi would go after me and say that I am lying"."

 

"She said so as she is not ready to speak about job creation. However, Center is of Adani and Ambani thus, they cleared loans of 15 people worth crores," Gandhi said.

Earlier, the Congress lawmaker from Wayanad called budget presentation by Sitharaman"hollow" and "tactical stuff without any central idea".

"Maybe this was the longest Budget speech in history but it had nothing, it was hollow," Gandhi had told media while leaving the Parliament after attending the Budget session in Lok Sabha.

"The main issue facing [the country] is unemployment. I didn't see any strategic idea that would help our youth get jobs. I saw tactical stuff but no central idea. It describes government well, a lot of repetition, rambling- it is the mindset of the government, all talk, but nothing happening," he had added.

On February 1, Sitharaman had presented her second Union Budget on behalf of the NDA-2 government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In the longest Union Budget speech in history, Sitharaman talked about tax regime, finance, agriculture, irrigation, water, sanitation, healthcare, education, infrastructure, women, digital connectivity among others.