“No mention of Haryana in Union Budget, focus on Bihar, Andhra”: Congress leader Deepender Hooda

New Delhi [India], July 23 (ANI): Congress leader Deepender Singh Hooda on Tuesday termed the Union Budget presented in Parliament on Tuesday by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as “disappointing” and said steps had not been taken to address the problems of “record unemployment” and price rise.

He also said there was focus in budget on Bihar and Andhra Pradesh and the budget speech did not mention several other states including Haryana.

With Haryana due for assembly polls later this year, Hooda said “if they forget Haryana, the people of state will forget lotus (BJP symbol)”.

“This budget was a complete disappointment. The budget did not have steps to tackle record unemployment and rising inflation. There was nothing to give relief to big sections like the poor and farmers,” he said.

Hooda said Bihar and Andhra Pradesh were mentioned several times and allocation made for projects in these states.

JD-U in Bihar and TDP in Andhra Pradesh are allies of BJP and their support is crucial for the survival of the National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre. The Union Budget had several announcements pertaining to the two states.

“Names of many states was not taken. Haryana did not get anything. The Finance Minister did not think it proper to take name of Haryana,” Hooda said.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, on Tuesday presented the first Union Budget of the Modi 3.0 government.

The Finance Minister, in her seventh consecutive Union Budget for 2024-25, outlined nine key priorities aimed at fostering economic growth and creating ample opportunities.

Sitharaman made some major announcements for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh.

“On the Amritsar-Kolkata industrial corridor we will support the development of an industrial nod at Gaya in Bihar. We will also support the construction of road connectivity projects namely Patna-Purnia Expressway, Buxar-Bagalpur Expressway, Bodhgaya-Rajgir-Vaishali-Darbanga and an additional two-lane bridge over river Ganga at Buxar at a total cost of Rs 26,000 crore,” she said.

“Power projects, including setting up of a new 2400 megawatt power plant at Pirpainti, will be taken up at a cost of Rs 21400 crore,” she added.

She said new airports, medical colleges and sports infrastructure will be constructed in Bihar.

“An additional allocation to support capital investments will be provided. The requests of Bihar Government for external assistance from multilateral development banks will be expedited,” she said.

The minister said that Bihar has frequently suffered from floods, many of them originating outside the country.

“Plans to build flood control structures in Nepal are yet to progress. Our government, through the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme and other sources, will provide financial support for projects with estimated cost of Rs 11,500 crore such as the Kosi-Mechi intra-state link and 20 other ongoing and new schemes including barrages, river pollution abatement and irrigation projects. In addition, survey and investigation of Kosi related flood mitigation and irrigation projects will be undertaken,” she said.

Sitharaman also said that the BJP-led government government has made concerted efforts to fulfil the commitments in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act.

“Recognizing the state’s need for a capital, we will facilitate special financial support through multilateral development agencies. In the current financial year Rs 15,000 crore will be arranged, with additional amounts in future years.”

Sitharaman said the BJP-led government is fully committed to financing and early completion of the Polavaram Irrigation Project, which is the lifeline for Andhra Pradesh and its farmers. This will facilitate country’s food security as well.

“Under the Act, for promoting industrial development, funds will be provided for essential infrastructure such as water, power, railways and roads in Kopparthy node on the Vishakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor and Orvakal node on Hyderabad-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor. An additional allocation will be provided this year towards capital investment for economic growth,” she said.

“Grants for backward regions of Rayalaseema, Prakasam and North Coastal Andhra, as stated in the Act, will also be provided,” she added.