Lucknow, Feb 7 (IANS): Opposition parties in Uttar Pradesh slammed the budget presented by the state's Yogi Adityanath government on Thursday and said it was aimed at appeasing the ruling party's vote bank ahead of the general elections.
State Finance Minister Rajesh Agarwal tabled a Rs 4.79 lakh crore budget in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly on Thursday. This is the third budget by the Adityanath government.
In a statement, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati termed it an election-oriented budget.
The Rs 4.79 lakh-crore allocations, she said, were not enough to right the wrongs done by the Adityanath government, which had failed miserably in maintaining law and order and public welfare.
People are very intelligent and will see through the machinations of the BJP, she said.
Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav called the budget uninspiring and directionless.
"This was the third budget of the state government, two more are left...there is nothing in the budget for the youth and the distressed farmers," he said.
Accusing the Adityanath government of cheating the farmers, Yadav said the budget had provisions of only Rs 436 crore for 'malin bastis' and the arrears of sugarcane growers continue to go unpaid. This reflected the government mindset, he said.
The former CM also slammed the state government for doing precious little for improving and strengthening healthcare in the state.
"The reality of the smart cities is for all to see. And the police department and schemes like Dial-100 rolled out by the SP government are in shambles," the SP chief alleged.
Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) chief Raj Babbar said the budget was "low on substance" and did not show the way on how unemployment in the state would be tackled.
Veteran Congress leader Pramod Tiwari said that even as the Modi government at the Centre breaks all records of unemployment in the country with its wrong policies, the UP government's budget has very little to offer to the unemployed youth of the state.
"This is an election budget which had only slogans and poor vision, and nothing to offer either to the poor, the farmers or the youth," the former Rajya Sabha member said.