The Budget speech of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharam being telecast in Delhi on Wednesday.
| Photo Credit: Sushil Kumar Verma
The Union Budget found little support from the ruling Aam Aadmi Party in the city on Wednesday. While Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the Budget contained nothing to reduce inflation, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia accused the Centre of “gross injustice” for not raising Delhi’s share in the central pool of taxes.
Meanwhile, the Delhi unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party hailed the Budget as “ sarv hitkari (beneficial to all)” and “all encompassing”, with measures for each section of the society.
Mr. Kejriwal tweeted, “The reduction of the education budget from 2.64% to 2.5% is unfortunate and the reduction of the health budget from 2.2% to 1.98% is dangerous.” He added that the Budget will rather increase inflation and has no concrete plan to reduce unemployment.
At a press conference, Mr. Sisodia said every State gets a share of 42% from central taxes, but Delhi has received only ₹325 crore each year for the last 22 years under the subhead of grant in lieu of taxes, even after contributing over ₹1.75 lakh crore in income tax each year.
“Despite repeated requests, Delhi’s allocated share in the central pool of taxes continues to be ₹325 crore, even though it contributed ₹1.78 lakh crore in direct taxes in FY22,” he added.
“The Centre gives only ₹611 per person to Delhi from its share of taxes. However, it gives ₹64,524 crore to Maharashtra (₹4,963 per person), ₹80,183 crore to Madhya Pradesh (₹9,216 per person) and ₹37,252 crore to Karnataka (₹5,247 per person),” Mr. Sisodia said.
In response, Bharatiya Janata Party MP Manoj Tiwari called Mr. Sisodia’s claims “false and misleading”.
“In the Budget presented today, there is a direct provision of ₹1,168 crore for Delhi, while ₹2,285 crore has also been given to Delhi Metro,” he said.
The BJP MP added that since 2015, the Central government has given ₹22,800 crore for the development of Delhi and ₹26,000 crore for Delhi Metro.
He also alleged that the AAP government needs money from the Centre for advertising the party and not development schemes.
BJP lauds tax relief
Lauding the increase in income tax exemption limit from ₹5 lakh to ₹7 lakh, Mr. Tiwari said this Budget announcement will benefit the city’s lower middle class residents.
‘Another jumla’
The Deputy CM also called the Budget “another jumla (gimmick) by the Centre”, which will drown the nation in more debt. “Till 2014, the Central government had a debt of ₹53 lakh crore. During two successive terms of the BJP-led Centre, the country came under a debt of ₹150 lakh crore. This Budget will drown the country in ₹15 lakh crore additional debt,” he stated.
Mr. Sisodia added that the Budget has been made only to benefit the super-rich and has “nothing to offer to the aam aadmi”.
With respect to civic bodies, the Deputy CM said the Budget has allocated money for all corporations but not the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.
Mr. Sisodia also questioned Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and the Centre’s claim of ensuring inclusive growth, as the Budget allocation for education and health has not been increased.
Mirroring Mr. Kejriwal’s sentiments, he said, “No new hospitals have been announced despite the burden on medical facilities. Allocations to both education and health care have been cut from the previous year. It feels like a mockery.”
“It has been three years since the Centre presented the National Education Policy, 2020, which recommends that the government spend at least 6% of the Budget on education. Instead, the Centre has reduced the spending on education,” he added.
