Shiv Sena Editorial Slams Union Budget as “Sedative Till Next Lok Sabha Elections”

GG News Bureau

Mumbai, 2nd Feb. ‘Saamana,’ the official mouthpiece of the Shiv Sena’s Uddhav Thackeray faction, said in a critique of the Union Budget tabled by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman on Wednesday that it was a pre-election budget and a sedative for the people till the next general elections.

According to the column, the Finance Minister announced an increase in the income tax exemption limit after nearly eight years.

“Under this government, the prices of petrol, diesel and LPG have doubled and tax exemptions declared today in the Budget doesn’t make compensate for that. Amid the skyrocketing prices of essential commodities and rising inflation in all areas, this might be a plan by the government to divert public attention from all these questions through a tax relief,” the column read.

According to the editorial, the government announced special budgetary allocations for Karnataka in preparation for the state’s next Assembly elections, which are scheduled for this year.

“In order to make the people of Karnataka happy, the government announced a special allocation for Karnataka. The Finance Minister emphasized in her speech that adequate funds should be provided for the Bhadra Irrigation Project of Karnataka. While making such an announcement for Karnataka, the Finance minister forgot that Mumbai and Maharashtra contribute the most to the country’s exchequer,” it said.

It was alleged that Maharashtra received nothing from the budget, but the Sindhe-Fadnavis government welcomed it, proving that they had mortgaged their self-respect.