BHUBANESWAR: The State unit of the BJP described the 2022-23 Union budget as growth oriented and pro-farmer but the Congress and Left parties alleged that the genuine needs of Odisha have been overlooked.Stating that the budget has taken care of the welfare of all sections of society, president of the Odisha unit of BJP Sameer Mohanty said that it has kindled new hope among the people during the pandemic. Referring to record collection of Rs 1,40,986 crore GST in January, 2020, Mohanty said that the State will certainly benefit from this.
He said that the budget is in tune with ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ through which 60 lakh jobs have been created. Describing the budget as pro-farmer, he said that farmers will receive `2.75 lakh crore through MSP on different crops. “The focus on bio-fertilisers will benefit farmers from the State. Besides, farm equipment will also become cheaper.” Welcoming the provision of 80 lakh rural houses under Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (PMAY), he said that the allocation to provide drinking water to 3.8 crore houses will also benefit the people of Odisha.
However, president of the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee Niranjan Patnaik alleged that there is nothing in the budget for State. “What is there in the budget for Odisha? Nothing! How could Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman forget that Odisha is in dire need of support after two years of devastating pandemic and its continuing struggle with natural calamities. This is shocking,” he added.
The Left parties alleged that the budget is pro-corporate and anti-people. State secretariat member of CPM Dushmant Das said that the budget has proposed to slash corporate tax from 12 per cent to seven per cent which will benefit the rich industrialists. Besides, the proposal to allow correction in IT returns within two years will also help the corporate institutions and industrialists, he added.
CPI State secretary Ashis Kanungo alleged that there is no proposal for employment generation in the State. Besides, no steps have been announced to control the price of LPG, petrol and diesel which hit the middle class and poor people, he added.