Union Minister Puri Defends Budget, Says it Fulfills Reorganisation Act Commitment

Ahmedabad, Jul 27 (PTI) Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Saturday denied the allegation that the Union budget favoured Andhra Pradesh, stating that it only fulfilled the commitment made under the State Reorganisation Act passed during a Congress regime.
He was speaking at a press conference on the budget, organised by the Gujarat BJP here.

Puri was asked about the Opposition's allegation that the budget presented by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman only benefited Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, the states respectively governed by JD(U) and TDP, key allies of the BJP-led government at the Centre.


"Ask them who signed the State Reorganisation Act....It was the Congress government. It is your commitment. We are fulfilling your commitment," he said.


The Act of 2014 divided erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, carving out a new state of Telangana.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Rs 1 lakh crore-worth projects for Maharashtra during his Mumbai visit, including a Rs 76,000 crore port project that will create 10 lakh jobs, Puri said.



The budget aimed at 'Purvoday' (rise of the east) which will benefit West Bengal and Odisha too, and not just Bihar, the minister said, adding that Rs 10,000 crore were allocated to Himachal Pradesh for disaster mitigation.



"I am not saying this because I am a BJP worker and Modi's team member. From any angle, it is a first-class budget....We assess the budget in totality. And I am very happy that this budget has been well-received by all sections of society," he said.


Gujarat has also benefited with its budgetary tax devolution rising from Rs 59,981 crore during 2004-14 to Rs 2,32,098 crore, an increase of 287 percent, Puri said.



Grants-in-aid rose from Rs 42,865 crore to Rs 1,88,487 crore during the same period, a rise of 340 percent, he said, adding that special assistance to Gujarat for capital investment stood at Rs 10,930 crore, apart from viability gap funding and other provisions.



"Our GDP turnover is USD 4 trillion. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said the Indian economy will become the third largest in the world by 2027," Puri noted.



Petrol and diesel prices in India are the lowest in the world as PM Modi reduced the central excise duty and the BJP-ruled states slashed Value Added Tax, he said.



"Availability, affordability and sustainability --green transition ... When Modi came to power, biofuel blending was 1.4 percent, and today it stands at 15 percent. We aim to achieve the target of 20 percent blending by 2025 instead of 2030," the Union minister said.


The budget also lays emphasis on the youth, skilling and employment, and the fine print of the schemes to provide jobs to 4 crore youth and internship to one crore, as announced by the finance minister in her speech, was being worked out, he said.