Kolkata, Feb 28 (IANS) West Bengal’s political parties Monday gave a mixed reaction on the budget with the state’s ruling Left Front denouncing it as ‘anti-people’ and favouring the ‘cream of the society’ while opposition Trinamool Congress and Congress hailed it as pro-people and restrained.
India’s Rs.12.58 lakh crore (Rs.12.58 trillion/$280 billion) federal budget for 2011-12 Monday sought to address the want of every constituency with tax relief to cheer households and corporates alike while also promising fair doses of reform on subsidies and foreign investment along with measures to curb inflation, check corruption and push growth.
‘This is an anti-people budget. The budget is targeted at a section of the country who are considered to be the cream of the society. No relief measures have been unveiled to provide relief to the common man,’ Left Front Chairman and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) politburo member Biman Bose said while addressing a media meet here.
The Left Front partners also echoed Bose and slammed the central government for not taking proper measures to control price rise.
‘It is an ordinary budget presented by the Congress government. This budget is for the rich section of the society, not for the poor people,’ Communist Party of India (CPI) leader and state Water Resource Minister Nandogopal Bhattacharjee said.
‘The most important issue that is taking a toll on common man is price rise. No measures have been taken to tackle it. Rather they have given attention to indirect taxes. And another thing no measures have been taken for the minority community of India,’ Forward Bloc leader Hafiz Alam Sairani said.
‘They have tried to provide relief to the corporate sector and rich farmers. Nothing has been done for common man,’ said Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) leader Manoj Bhattacharjee.
The state Congress leaders however hailed the budget as pro people and said ithas taken care of all sections of the society.
‘It is a pro-people budget. All sections and sectors of the society have been taken care of in this budget,’ said state Congress president Manas Bhunia.
‘It is a restrained budget. Good to see allocation in agricultural, education and health sectors,’ said Trinamool Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in assembly Partha Chatterjee.
