DMK MP A. Raja on February 9, 2023 said the Modi government could not claim to have the “patronage and shield” of 140 crore people as the Opposition had more than 200 MPs in the House.
Of the total MPs in the Lok Sabha, more than 200 belong to the Opposition parties.
“You are claiming that you enjoy the patronage and confidence of the country’s 140 crore people. How can you make such a claim when over 200 MPs are not with you?” he asked, during a discussion on the Union Budget for 2023-24
While replying to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Wednesday said that he had the protective shield of the trust reposed in his government by 140 crore Indians and that it could not be breached by the “weapons of lies”. Mr. Raja also said that the Opposition’s allegations about the Adani Group stood true as they had not been refuted by the government. “The allegations made by the Opposition were not refuted at all by the government. Since they were not refuted, they stand true,” he said.
The DMK MP also said that the Budget presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had neglected sectors such as education, health and agriculture. Also, there was little for the marginalised sections of society such as the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes, he said.
Congress MP M.K. Raghavan said that the government had not allocated enough funds for the MGNREGS (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) and demanded that the wage should be enhanced at least to ₹400 per day for each person under the scheme.
Several MPs demanded special packages for their States and termed the Union Budget a “missed opportunity” to tackle poverty and unemployment.
Resuming the discussion which began on Wednesday, YSR Congress Party member Margani Bharat Ram asserted that the previous Congress-led UPA government had cut Andhra Pradesh “like a birthday cake” and demanded special status for the State.
The YSRCP member also said that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had missed the opportunity to rein in the rising prices of cooking gas.
Trinamool Congress’ MP Saugata Roy termed the Budget “anti-farmer, anti-poor and anti-rural”. He also demanded an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) into the allegations of round-tripping made against the Adani Group by U.S.-based Hindenburg Research.
Janata Dal (United) leader Mahabali Singh and Bhartruhari Mahtab of the Biju Janata Dal asked for special status and packages for Bihar and Odisha respectively.
Meanwhile, BJP MP from Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh, G.S. Damor, said Mr. Modi was working for all sections of society and he should be conferred the Bharat Ratna.
