Both Houses Of Parliament Take Up Discussion On Union Budget 2024-2025

In Lok Sabha Initiating the discussion, Kumari Selja of  Congress raised the issue of unemployment saying it is increasing day by day in the country. She questioned why the Government is not taking steps to fill up vacancies in Central Government Departments. The Congress leader also spoke about unemployment in Haryana. She criticized the government on the Agniveer Scheme and demanded its rollback. She alleged that the government has ignored the farmers and labourers in the Budget. Ms Selja demanded that the government should give legal guarantees on MSP to farmers and fix 400 rupees as minimum wages for daily labourers.

Participating in the discussion, Biplab Kumar Deb of BJP said, that when the BJP Government came to power in 2014, India was in fragile five. He said, Narendra Modi Government has made the economic system transparent. Mr Deb said the Economic Survey has estimated a real GDP growth of 6.5 per cent to 7 per cent in 2024-25. He termed the Union Budget 2024-25 as a focussed Budget. Mr Deb said, there is over 18 per cent more capital expenditure in the budget as compared to 2023-24 which means there is more focus on infrastructure and employment. He also listed several steps taken by the Narendra Modi Government in the financial as well as social sectors.  

Virendra Singh of the Samajwadi Party accused the BJP-led Central Government of ignoring Uttar Pradesh in the Union Budget. He alleged that it was an attack on federalism.  

Participating in the discussion, TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee hit out at the Government on the issue of employment, demonetisation and alleged misuse of central agencies against opposition leaders. He accused the Central Government of failing to keep their promises and guarantees. He also targeted the Government over NEET. Referring to recent rail accidents, Mr Banerjee said the Budget has no mention of railway security. He also alleged that the budget is anti-poor.

Dayanidhi Maran of DMK accused the Centre of ignoring Tamil Nadu in the Union Budget. He also talked about the price rise saying people of the country are facing the brunt of it. He demanded a White Paper on Windfall taxes. Mr Maran alleged that not a single rupee has been allocated to Tamil Nadu for flood control.  

Sribarat Mathukumili of TDP  has termed the Union Budget as visionary which exemplifies the government’s unwavering commitment to Viksit Bharat. He also appreciated the government for its welfare schemes like providing budgetary support for the construction of one crore houses in urban and rural areas and for Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana.

Dinesh Chandra Yadav of JD(U) demanded the government to build an airport and AIIMS at Saharsa of Bihar. He also said that the government should consider enhancing the salaries and allowances of MPs as they also face problems.

Supriya Sule of NCP(SP) urged the government to hold assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir.  She added that the four engines of growth for a robust economy are investments, consumption, exports, and fiscal spending. She said that corporate tax rates have been reduced to attract investments, but that is not reflected in the numbers the government has given.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor alleged that the government’s priorities chiefly revolve around appeasing their two allies in two states. He termed the budget as underwhelming and said the government has let the people of India



down.

In Rajya Sabha Initiating the discussion, Congress MP P Chidambaram raised the issues of unemployment and inflation. He said unemployment is the biggest problem saying that the Production Linked Incentive scheme has not generated enough jobs in the country. He raised questions over the announcement of the Employment Linked Incentive scheme in the Union Budget. 

Mr Chidambaram said inflation is much higher than the actual figure alleging that the Finance Minister did not speak much on it during her Budget speech. He also raised the issue of alleged discrimination against some states in the Union Budget saying that Bihar and Andhra Pradesh got the additional funding in this year’s Budget but what about the other states? He demanded to provide minimum wages and guaranteed MSP. He also demanded the abolition of the Agnipath scheme and the scrapping of the NEET examination.

Dr. Radhan Mohan Das Aggarwal of BJP highlighted the achievements made during the last ten years under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said the government initiated Jan Dhan Yojana which provided banking services to crores of people in the country. He said, over 14 crore households have been provided tap water connections in the rural areas. He said the Ayushman Bharat scheme proved instrumental in providing health services to the poor people. Citing shining examples of the country’s growth in many sectors, 

Mr Aggarwal said, the country is witnessing a growth rate above eight per cent and lakhs of employment opportunities have been generated in the country. Taking a dig at the UPA government, he said, the fiscal deficit was over 10 per cent in 2012-13 which has now reached around five per cent. He said, per capita income was also raised under the current government. 

Participating in the discussion, TMC MP Jawahar Sircar questioned the PLI scheme demanding a White Paper on it. He alleged that the Scheme is benefiting only one state. Mr Sircar said this budget is anti-federal and anti-poor and only for the rich. He accused the government of being in denial mode on the issue of unemployment in the country which is increasing continuously.

T K Elango of DMK alleged that the nothing concrete in the Union Budget for Tamil Nadu. He alleged that there is a regional disparity in the budget.

Sanjeev Arora of AAP stressed on the need to increase the budget allocation in the health sector and make healthcare affordable for all. He requested the Union Health Minister to increase the budgetary allocation to 2.5  per cent of the GDP.

Sujeet Kumar of BJD alleged that a lot of promises in different sectors were made to the people of Odisha during the election campaign, especially on MSME, agriculture and industry but they were not met through this budget.

Shiv Sena leader Murli Deora congratulated the government for taking a number of initiatives that have led to the increase of women in the workforce. Mr Deora said Production Linked Incentives must be directed to industries that create the maximum amount of employment.

AGP leader Birendra Prasad Baishya termed the Budget as farmer-friendly and job-oriented. He said this budget has given equal importance to agriculture, service industry and manufacturing. TMC leader Sagarika Ghose alleged that the Budget does not address the issue of inequality in the country. She said that 67 per cent of the GST is paid by the poorest fifty per cent of India.