Budget surrenders country to commercial interests: Pinarayi

‘Proposals show withdrawal of govt. from all sectors’

February 01, 2021 11:30 pm | Updated February 02, 2021 12:48 pm IST - THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. File

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. File

Terming the Union Budget ‘disappointing’, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday said it reflected the National Democratic Alliance government's commitment to implement neo-liberal initiatives with greater vigour.

The proposals to privatise more public sector units and increase foreign investment, including in the insurance sector, show the withdrawal of the government from all sectors, thus surrendering the country to commercial interests, Mr. Vijayan said.

Terming it a challenge to the citizens, Mr. Vijayan said the Budget reiterated that the NDA government would continue with the new agricultural policies. “The talks with the agitating farmers were staged and the BJP-led government has made it clear through the Budget that it will not repeal the controversial farm laws,” he said. The Chief Minister said that instead of providing subsidy to the farmers the Centre was luring them into a debt trap by offering loans.

Income inequality

The Budget was silent on those who had lost income following the pandemic-induced lockdown. It did not increase social security pension or announce income tax rebate or financial packages for retailers and businesses. The Budget proposals showed that economic inequality would further increase in the country.

Coming out against the cess for petrol and diesel under the guise of farm cess, the Chief Minister said it would only increase inflation.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.