Team Herald
PANJIM: The Congress party in Goa has called the Union Interim Budget as an election manifesto in view of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections while also claiming it was a breach of Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act.
“The union government has presented a full-fledged budget and not interim Budget. There were so many flaws in the Budget. The entire presentation of the Budget was in fact a breach of FRBM Act keeping in view the forthcoming (Lok Sabha) elections,” former chief minister Digambar Kamat said addressing a press conference at Congress head office on Saturday.
Kamat also pointed out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government’s claim of having provided relief to various sectors including farmers and fisheries among others has not pleased them.
“The government has declared Rs 6,000 grant to each farmer per year with retrospective effect. In some states, farmers get relief up to Rs 15,000. This appears to be nothing because expectation from the farmers was high,” he commented citing example of the scheme to the farmers.
Congress spokesperson Ramakant Khalap has called the interim budget ‘election manifesto,’ stating, “It cannot be called a Budget. It is the election manifesto of the BJP.”
Asked whether the interim Budget would help the BJP or Congress, Khalap said it would go in favour of Congress considering that many were not happy with the Budget.
“This time people will not get carried away or be misguided. The election manifesto is not a roadmap for development,” he said adding, “Congress will get maximum benefit.”
