Former Odisha CM mocks BJP’s “game-changing” state budget, calls it “name-changing budget”
Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], July 29 (ANI): Former Odisha Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition in the Odisha Assembly, Naveen Patnaik, took a dig at the first budget of the BJP government in the state, and said that instead of presenting a game-changing budget, the party has presented only a name-changing budget.
“The state BJP said they would present a game-changing budget; instead, they have presented only a name-changing budget. 80 per cent of their schemes that they have presented have already been presented by our BJD government,” Naveen Patnaik told reporters.
The Rs 2.65 lakh crore budget for the 2024-25 fiscal was presented by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, who also holds the finance portfolio, on Thursday.
The budget for the current fiscal year exceeded the budgetary forecast of Rs 2.30 lakh crore for the fiscal year 2023-24 by almost 15 per cent.
Manjhi proposed spending Rs 33,919 crore on agriculture, which is around 36 per cent higher than what was allotted the year before.
He stated that of the overall budget estimates, the programme spending was estimated to be Rs 1.55 lakh crore, the administrative expenditure to be Rs 97,725 crore, and the disaster risk management funds to be expended at Rs 3,900 crore.
However, the BJP had termed the budget a historic and people-oriented one that would help in the development of Odisha.
“The budget is very historic. Many agendas from the twenty-one agendas of the Sankalp Patra have been implemented. This is people’s government and our aim is to take the public along,” Odisha Minister Mukesh Mahaling told ANI on Friday
Odisha Deputy Chief Minister KV Singh Deo said that the state budget was a people-oriented budget that would help in the development of Odisha.
“Today, the CM has presented the first budget of the BJP in Odisha. The budget has two parts: the agriculture budget and the general budget. It includes what the PM has emphasised. It is for the poor, women, youth… The CM has tried to ensure the overall development. This is a people’s budget, a people-oriented budget that will help in the development of Odisha,” he said.
