West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday termed the Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as “anti-people”, and said it will deprive the poor. Addressing a government function at Bolpur in Birbhum district, Mamata claimed that the changes proposed in the income tax slabs will not help anyone.
“This Union Budget is not futuristic, totally opportunistic, anti-people and anti-poor. It will benefit only one class of people. This Budget will not help address the country’s unemployment issue. It has been prepared with an eye on the 2024 Lok Sabha elections,” she said.
“The changes in the income tax slabs will not help anyone. There is no ray of hope in this Budget — it is a dark dark budget. Give me half an hour and I will show you how to prepare a Budget for the poor,” she added.
The comments came after FM Sitharaman placed the Budget for 2023-24 in Parliament. The Budget proposed a new income tax structure, higher exemptions for those who opted for the new tax regime and benefits for senior citizens and the salaried class.
Among other measures, the government has proposed higher allocation in the infrastructure sector. The capital investment outlay has been raised by 33 per cent to Rs 10 lakh crore, with the Rs 2.4 lakh crore outlay for the Railways, the highest in almost a decade and four times the last year’s budget.
