NEW DELHI: Terming the Union Budget as “directionless”, the Opposition on Monday criticised it for its “distinctive misses”, even as the BJP described it as a roadmap to achieve the $5-trillion economy.
In fact, not just $5 trillion but the economy can even be double the size the BJP said in the Lok Sabha on Monday. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, while initiating discussions, said the Budget is “Trishanku (not in the right place)”.
Former Union minister Jayant Sinha countered that the Narendra Modi government brought back on track derailed passenger train (economy) and turned it into a Rajdhani, which in the next five years will run like a bullet train.
“The Budget couldn’t come up with answers to grave issues affecting the economy, including agrarian distress and unemployment. The economy is being deprived of demographic dividend in the face of historic unemployment. By 2030, the decade of demographic dividend would end, but the Budget has shown no vision for creating employments,” said Tharoor in his speech replete with Urdu couplets, including a few of Mirza Ghalib.
Sinha said Tharoor hasn’t seen numbers, which portray an economy gaining pace.
“The GDP (gross domestic product) size has seen 70 per cent expansion from Rs 111 lakh crore in 2014 to Rs 188 lakh crore in 2019. The $5 trillion economy size could be achieved if the GDP size touches Rs 350 lakh crore, which is within range. In fact, the economy is on course to become $10 trillion once the GDP size expands to Rs 700 lakh crore,” Sinha claimed.
DMK leader in the House T R Balu said the Budget ignored Tamil Nadu except for the reference to the Sangam literature.