AAP Slams Union Budget as 'Jhunjhuna' Budget - No Relief for Farmers, Youth

New Delhi, Jul 23 (PTI) The AAP dubbed the Union Budget 2024-25, tabled in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, as "jhunjhuna" (rattle toy for kids) budget saying there was nothing in it for the farmers, youth, women and employees.

In a press conference, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MPs Sanjay Singh and Malvinder Singh Kang slammed the Budget for "depriving" party-ruled Delhi and Punjab of their due shares in the financial allocations.

This is "sarkar bachao, mahangai badhao" (save government, increase inflation) budget, Singh charged.

"This is a 'jhunjuna' budget in which the people of the country did not get anything," said the Rajya Sabha MP.

There is nothing for the farmers, traders, employees, youth and women in this Budget although it provided relief to the corporate houses by not raising tax paid by them, he said.

Kang, AAP Lok Sabha MP from Anandpur Sahib in Punjab, said in the nearly one-hour long Budget speech of Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman did not mention Punjab even once.

The Lok Sabha MP said Sitharaman mentioned Himachal and Uttarakhand in terms of flood and announced special packages for those states although there was nothing for Punjab where there was extensive crop and property damages due to the floods.

Kang said the subsidy on fertiliser has been slashed from Rs 25,000 crore to Rs 16,000 crore for agriculture-based economy of Punjab.

Despite the rising cost of fertilisers, pesticides, petrol and diesel and protest by farmers, the Budget failed to ensure guarantee for minimum support price of their crops, he said.