Budget disappointing for Telangana, says TPCC chief Uttam Kumar Reddy

HYDERABAD: Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president N. Uttam Kumar Reddy described the budget presented by Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday as highly disappointing, especially for Telangana.

In a press statement, he said except for some changes in income tax slabs, there is nothing new in the budget. “The budget has nothing for unemployed youth, farmers, women, and students. Sectors that generate jobs have been completely ignored,” he pointed out.

The TPCC chief underlined that the budget remained completely silent on rising unemployment in the country, which is at a 45-year high. The finance minister neither made a mention of unemployment nor proposed any measures to address the problem. There is no mention of rising inflation in the country.

Uttam Kumar Reddy said the government did not specify as to how it plans to double the income of farmers by 2022. Crores of farmers, who are in distress, have found no mention, though thousands of them were committing suicides. “Why is the Modi government not speaking about M. S. Swaminathan Report, which has sought implementation of input cost + 50 percent as MSP for agriculture produce,” he sought to know.

The TPCC chief observed that agriculture growth rate must be at least 11 percent if the government wishes to double the farmers’ income by 2022. “However, as per the Economic Survey 2019-20, the annual growth rate in real terms in agriculture and its allied sectors was 2.88 per cent from 2014-15 to 2018-19 and the estimated growth rate in 2019-20 is 2.9 per cent. Under the circumstances, the finance minister needs to clarify how the government plans to achieve the target of doubling the farmers’ income by 2022,” he asked.