No special incentives for J&K, BJP again let down people of state: Bhalla

Jammu: Former Minister and senior Congress leader Raman Bhalla today termed Union Budget 2019-20 as mere lip service as usual and nothing special for J&K.Increased customs duty on gold, special additional excise duty and cess of Rs 1 per litre on petrol and diesel is likely to hit the common man. It’s just a ritual of the BJP-led Central government. First, they introduced an interim Budget and now this seems to be a repetition of their promises. Bhalla said additional cess on fuel would increase the prices. There is already uncertainty over the fuel prices. This additional cess will increase the burden on people. We were expecting some respite for the middle-class families.  The business activity in Jammu is on the decline due to the government policies. Emphasis on trade promotion is more important,” said Bhalla.Bhalla said BJP-led central government’s failed to focus on J&K without some special announcements for the state. He said budget has completely ignored horticulture, tourism and handicrafts. It is vital for tourism that airfares are made affordable for visitors and locals travelling on this sector. This time the budget is nothing but a “jugglery of numbers”, said Bhalla, while adding that pre-poll promises made by BJP-led government have not been fulfilled. There is nothing for common man in the budget as it has nothing out of the box. Barring the noise, there is nothing in the numbers or nuances of the budget that will help achieve the ambitious target as claimed by BJP.Bhalla further called the budget an “eye wash,” saying Modi-led government has failed Jammu and Kashmir, as there was nothing “state-specific” in the Budget.The Union Budget has nothing to offer to the farmers from border areas. There should have been a special package for the farmers in Jammu, as they suffer the geographical disadvantage. Since 2014, the shelling has escalated in the border areas. Because of shelling, the farmers are unable to grow crops. The Modi government’s budget has failed farmers. In Jammu, mostly, the Indo-Pak border areas are populated with farmers. Besides the general distress, these farmers also suffer because of the untimely shelling after which they have to stay indoors for days on end. Calling the Union Budget as the “mockery of poor people,” Bhalla said, we were looking for some special package for industrialists and traders, who have been ignored both by the centre and the state.Bhalla said there was “tokenism” on creating jobs, nothing to indicate rise in farmers’ income, no tax relief to the average tax payer and no measures to boost exports. He also expressed his deep disappointment about some major schemes having reduced outlays. Referring to the national health protection scheme, he said it will entail huge expenditure but no money has been provided for it by the government.”The promise of Rs 5 lakh per family for secondary and tertiary healthcare is a big jumla. The target group is 10 crore families. Assuming each family will avail of Rs 50,000 – one tenth of Rs 5 lakh – the amount required per year will be Rs 5 lakh crore,” he said. Bhalla asked the BJP-led Centre to introspect on its assurances which will show that it has been diverting the people’s attention through its “empty” promises. The BJP-led NDA government has cared a fig for the poor, the labourers, the farmers and the working class because of which unemployment is rising and the chasm between the rich and the poor widening, he claimed. The budget has nothing for the poor, farmers, youths,” he said, adding that for the middle class, “it is like giving from one hand and taking from the other”.There is no effort to pull the poor out of poverty. It (budget) is silent on very vital issues and people’s aspirations have been ignored,” Bhalla said. He alleged that the budget was only aimed at confusing the people and called it a “conspiracy to misguide” them.” By encouraging private partnership in the railways and airport, and foreign investment in the media, the BJP government will only hand over national resources in the hands of big industrial houses and multi-national,” Bhalla claimed.”There is hopelessness among the people over the budget and it is only the prime minister, finance minister and leaders of the ruling party who are going all out and praising it,” Bhalla added. Taking a dig at BJP,Bhalla said that this is first such budget which does not present figures of budgetary allocation like in the past. Budget is an exercise of arithmetic figures but that has not been presented in the main budget. He said there is no initiative towards the employment problem which is serious being unemployment rate saw 45% high in Modi regime. Agriculture, Textile and leather etc are main source of jobs.