Left parties on Saturday said the Union Budget was all about "platitudes and slogans" and exposed how the government is abdicating all its responsibilities by privatising public assets.
Slamming the Union Budget presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the Left parties said it was a "budget of privatisation" and has nothing substantial to alleviate "people's miseries".
"The less you have to say longer will be the speech. The budget has completely failed to address the current economic slowdown. It does not have a road map on how the economy can be turned around," CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said.
He said the Indian economy is bordering on recession and the FM's speech didn't take the advice given by her Chief Economic Advisor of "increasing public expenditure."
"The actual figures of revenues and expenditure plan was not mentioned in the Budget speech. The government is meeting the revenue shortfall by privatization like selling stakes in the Life Insurance Corporation of India.
"They have announced that there will be lowering of central funding for centrally sponsored schemes and the burden will be passed on to states," Yechury said, adding that this is another attack on federalism.
He also said the budget was one of "platitudes and slogans."
"Nothing substantial to alleviate peoples' misery, the growing unemployment, rural wage crash, farmers' distress suicides and galloping prices," he tweeted.
CPI general secretary, D Raja said the Union Budget exposed how the government is abdicating all its responsibilities by privatising public assets.
"This budget is a budget for privatization and everything is to be done using PPP route including railways, health and infrastructure," he said.
He also said despite repeated claims of the government to double the income of the farmers, the distress continues.
"No hope to be seen in the budget for the millions of unemployed youth of the country," he said.
The All India Forward Bloc said the budget was "an offer to sell India."
"The budget proposes large scale privatization and disinvestment of national and natural assets. The proposal to privatize the LIC is highly deplorable and against the larger interest of the country.
"More privatization of Indian Railways, Banks etc. are also detrimental to the interest of the workers and consumers," a statement from the party said.
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