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Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday criticised the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha, terming it as a "targeted budget" and alleged that it is focused on the rich.
The SP chief also said that the budget does not reflect a roadmap to making the country a developed nation. Yadav questioned the government's vision for a 'Viskit Bharat' and spoke about the recent deportation of the Indian nationals. "This budget is a targeted budget, this budget is focused for those who are very rich, big people, industrialists. This budget is made for them," Yadav said during debate on the Union Budget. "I do not see any roadmap in it to make India a developed nation and the roadmap is not visible because as soon as the budget came, we saw those pictures. The pictures where the Indian nationals had handcuffs and shackles on their feet," he said. "I also want to speak from this medium that PM Modi is going to the US. Last time he went with a diamond, please take a golden shackle with him this time. And if possible please bring back some women and children in another airplane of the country so that some people can come," he added. Finance Minister later replied to the debate on the union budget and said the government is using almost the entire borrowed resources for financing effective capital expenditure. The minister said that effective capital expenditure is projected at 15.48 lakh crore as against 13.18 lakh crore in the revised esitmates of 2024-25. She said the effective capital expenditure for 2025-26 is 4.3 per cent of GDP as compared to fiscal deficit target of 4.4 per cent. Capital expenditure, or capex, is used to set up long-term physical or fixed assets. Effective capital expenditure includes core capital outlays and the grants in aid to states for creation of capital assets. Though the grants in aid for creation of capital assets is accounted in Budget as revenue expenditure, they go for creating capital assets in the states, she said. The difference between the two is minimal, she said explaining that it indicates that government is using almost the entire borrowed resources for financing effective capital expenditure. "The borrowings are not going for revenue expenditure or committed expenditure or any of those kinds. It's going only for creating capital assets. So in effect, the government intends to use about 99 per cent of borrowed resources to finance effective capital expenditure in the upcoming 2025-26 financial year," she said. (ANI)
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