West Bengal finance minister Chandrima Bhattacharya slammed the Union Budget 2023-24 announced on Wednesday, saying it had not addressed the massive issue of inflation. Giving it a ‘zero’ rating, she said chief minister Mamata Banerjee had also called the new budget “opportunistic and not futuristic” besides being “anti-poor”.
“This is absolutely not for the middle class; they have created confusion with two tax regimes and have not addressed the inflation problem, which is major. How can they not mention the inflation issue?” Bhattacharya told News18 in an exclusive interview.
Asked about the 66 percent increase in allocation on Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana funds to Bengal, Bhattacharya said there was a big difference in what the central government allocates and what it disburses.
“We are sure that what they allocate and what they give, there is a big difference in it. We are still awaiting funds from the last allocation despite raising an issue with the Centre. They have not given disbursed money for ‘100 days’,” she said.
On distribution of projects to different states, Bhattacharya said the Centre had only given a package to Karnataka and not any other state. “Why are there no projects for Bengal or other states? They always declare projects as per election schedule,” the minister added.
She also criticised funds allotted for the upliftment of backward classes, saying it was merely Rs 15,000 crore in three years that amounted to Rs 5,000 crore per year.
“It’s an absolutely anti-poor and opportunistic budget. Our chief minister has already said this,” Bhattacharya added.
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