Most disappointing budget, says Puducherry CM

: Senior Congress leader and Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy on Saturday dubbed the union budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as the most disappointing and lacking in firm measures to deal with economic slowdown.

In his reaction to the budget, the Chief Minister slammed the Centre for its "commitment to sell its stake in public sector undertakings such as LIC and the railways."

Also, he said he was shocked and dismayed over the failure of the Finance Minister to unveil steps for relief to farmers, unemployed youth and the poorer sections.

"No firm steps have been rolled out for promoting investments in the industrial sector," he said.

 

The budget has several schemes that would only fatten the rich people at the cost of the poor and have-nots, the Chief Minister said.

Further, several genuine and legitimate demands of Puducherry have been totally ignored, he said.

While there were proposals to earmark copious funds for the newly created Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, the Union Territory of Puducherry has been left high and dry, he said.

"Our consistent plea for sanction of funds to Puducherry to meet its commitment to implement the report of the Seventh Pay Commission and also to include Union Territory in the 15th Central Finance Commission had not been conceded, he lamented.

He said he was displeased with the absence of schemes to waive loans borrowed by farmers.

"In all, the budget lacks firm measures to relieve the country of its economic slowdown, inflation and setback in industrial development," he said.