Dismissing the Union Budget as a "wasted opportunity", the Opposition today called it as "just housekeeping" with "hollow promises" which will fool neither farmers nor weaker sections.
In a sharp attack on the government, Congress said it has "failed to create an immediate stimulus" to address economic challenges including employment generation with former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh holding that the budget lacked any "big idea".
Leading the offensive, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi reminded the Modi government that it had "mocked" Congress earlier on MGNREGA as the government increased the allocation of rural job flagship scheme launched by UPA government 10 years back by over Rs 3,800 crore in 2016-17.
"Modiji spent the first 2 years mocking the Congress Party's focus on farmers, MNREGA, Rural dev & social spending.
"Now mere rhetoric, without vision or action, will fool neither farmers nor the poor of this country," Gandhi said as the government declared to give a push to rural sector in the budget.
He said that the budget "lacks both vision & conviction" and that the exercise was a list of "new promises without any account of the failure of tall promises made in last 2 budgets".
Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram described the budget as a "wasted opportunity" and alleged that in the last two years, the government had turned its back on rural India, the agriculture sector, and the social sector programmes.
Accusing the Modi government of pursuing "regressive" policies, Left parties said the budget was "full of hollow promises and that it would further deepen agrarian distress in the country
"As with the previous two budgets, this budget of the Modi government is again full of hollow promises and slogans. The numbers just don't add up.
"FM says Budget is about fulfilling 'desires & dreams' but it has no vision. The dead certainty from it is of a shrinking economy," CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury said.
CPI national secretary D Raja echoed similar views and said the financial plan is "in tune with" the NDA Government's alleged economic philosophy of supporting corporate sector and foreign investors.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the budget did not address the concerns of the farmers and the middle class and accused the Modi government of "cheating" them while questioning the blackmoney amnesty scheme.
Kejriwal, who is campaigning for the upcoming Punjab Assembly polls, claimed that loans of industrialists have been "waived" in the Budget and wondered why a similar relief has "not been" extended to the farmers.
On his part, BJP chief Amit Shah praised the budget saying its focus on rural India and farmers besides other measures were "historic". Shah asserted that this is the first budget since Independence that has focused so much on "villages, farmers and poor".
"The thrust of the budget is towards strengthening rural and agriculture sectors and boosting employment-generation.... There is a lot of focus on agriculture. There is a proposal to double farmers' income by 2022," Shah told reporters.
