The miniscule opposition, led by just three Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs, attempted to pick holes in the Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi Government’s maiden ‘Swaraj Budget’ in the Delhi Assembly on Monday even as the AAP’s own legislators hailed it as nothing less than revolutionary.
Dubbing it as a “deficit budget”, Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta argued that the budget had “exposed the AAP’s doublespeak on austerity”, consisted of inflated revenue figures and sought to pick holes in the common man’s pocket despite the exclusion of added or increased taxes.
“This budget is not a surplus budget like Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had claimed it would be but one which has overstated income projections and a deficit of at least Rs. 417 crores,” Mr. Gupta claimed.
The legislator from Rohini went on to allege that while most had expected austerity to underline the AAP’s maiden budget, this had been a lost cause due to the Delhi Government’s insistence on the appointment of 21 Parliamentary Secretaries to accommodate whom the Government’s expenditure had been forced to factor in an increase of over Rs. 50 lakh over the current fiscal.
However, the Delhi Budget received accolades from the ruling AAP MLAs who praised the participatory approach adopted for finalising it and affirmed that the country’s first “Swaraj Budget” had the intent to deliver on promises made to the poor and downtrodden as well as the middle class of the Capital.
Chandni Chowk MLA Alka Lamba said the Budget had reflected the thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi and former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, as it had addressed crucial issues in education, people's welfare, health care and development.Greater Kailash MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj said the Budget had explored the domains such as excise that would turn out to be a major contributor to the Government revenue. .
