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After the presentation of the Union Budget on Tuesday the joint opposition led a protest outside parliament alleging that the budget was discriminatory and lacked vision. Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said that the Bharatiya Janata Party has failed to solve basic issues and its "compulsion" is visible in the budget.
"The entire country is upset with the budget. People from all the states are upset because the BJP has failed to solve their basic issues. The compulsion of the government is visible in this budget. INDIA bloc is protesting against the injustice done in the budget...," Gogoi said speaking to ANI on Wednesday as INDIA bloc leaders protested at the Parliament against the "discriminatory" nature of the Budget. Congress MP Karti Chidambaram said that it was expected that the Finance Minister would give relief to those who took student loans. "... We were expecting the FM to give relief to those who have taken student loans. While she has said she is going to give new student loans, what about those who already took loans and are unable to pay back?" Chidambaram said speaking to ANI. "The allocation of MNREGA funds has gone down...," he added. On the removal of indexation on the sale of property proposed by the Finance Minister in the Budget, Chidambaram said, "Removal of indexation will create a lot of disappointment for the people who are holding property, particularly those who inherit property from their previous generation. This is practically an inheritance tax..." Congress MP Rajeev Shukla said that the ruling party has left all states in the Budget and gave importance to only two states ruled by their alliance partners. "They have left out all the states in the budget and focussed on only two states to save their alliance," Shukla said. "Schemes and reforms which give long-term benefit to the economy were missing from the budget," he added. Congress MP Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said that Punjab has not been given adequate importance in the Budget as the BJP has failed to win any seat in the state in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections. "We are protesting for justice to Punjab today. Andhra Pradesh and Bihar have been allocated everything...Flood assistance was also not given to Punjab. Punjab did not give even one seat to BJP and this is the reason the state has been ignored," Warring said speaking to ANI. Senior Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram, Shashi Tharoor said that though it was expected that Kerala would receive some allocations under the Union Budget in its health sector, it was not done and similarly other states have their issues. "There is very little for most states. There were a few expectations for Kerala, especially in the health sector, but all of them have not been fulfilled. Each state has its issue to point to...," Tharoor said while participating in the INDIA bloc protest outside the Parliament. Congress president and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge said, "This budget is just to satisfy their allies... They have given nothing to anyone." The opposition INDIA bloc MPs held a protest in the Parliament complex on Wednesday, against the Union Budget, presented on Tuesday by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. "Opposition virodhi kursi bachao Budget murda baad" slogans were raised by the INDIA bloc leaders as they protested holding placards in the Parliament building claiming that the Budget is "discriminatory" in nature. Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Congress MP Sonia Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, party General Secretary KC Venugopal, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, TMC MP Dola Sen were seen participating in the protest. (ANI)
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