Participating in the debate on the 2012-13 budget, Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly Swami Prasad Maurya said that after the formation of the SP government there has been some 20 lakh enrolments in the employment exchanges but the budget speech of the chief minister aimed at benefiting only nine lakh youth in the 30-40 age group.
Similarly, he said that with an allocation of Rs 2,721 crore made for laptops and tablets in the budget, all those eligible for it would not be able to get the benefit and apprehended that government might impose some new conditions.
Terming the allocation of Rs 500 as insufficient for waiver of farmers' loans, another poll promise, Maurya said it would be able to benefit only two farmers each in every revenue village. Besides, the allocation of Rs 25 crore for treatment of critically ill was inadequate, he said.
The BSP leader rued that there was no mention of free irrigation, as promised to voters, and added that Purvanchal and Bundelkhand have also been neglected.
Taking exception to the Governor's budget speech that the present government has inherited economy in a dismal state, Maurya cited figures to counter it.
He also regretted the cut in budgetary allocations of various public welfare departments and asked as to why this was done when the budget has seen a 22 per cent rise.
Citing various schemes of the BSP government which have been started by a different name now, Maurya said budgetary provisions for them was also less than the previous year.
He said while no communal riot or caste clash took place in the past five years, in the brief period of over two months of the SP rule, riot has taken place in Kosi-Kalan, Mathura.
Hukum Singh (BJP) criticised the scheme of providing monetary help to Muslim girls, fearing it would fragment the society. He said that in the past budgets since 2008,thousands of crores of rupees have been allocated to the power sector and sought to know where this money has gone.
