Bhubaneswar, Feb 23 (IANS): Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday hailed the annual budget for 2021-22 while the opposition BJP and Congress criticised it for having nothing for the farmers and migrant returnees.

"It is a pro-people, pro-growth and transformative budget in our journey towards 'New Odisha - Empowered Odisha'. Most of last year we lost in Covid lockdowns. From that scenario to presenting a holistic, fiscally prudent budget for Rs 1.76 lakh crore is nothing short of brilliant. Congratulations to everyone involved," said the Chief Minister.

Finance Minister Niranjan Pujari presented the annual budget for 2021-22 with an outlay of Rs 1.7 lakh crore in the state Assembly on Monday.

However, the opposition parties said that the budget ignored the concerns of farmers while it did not focus on infrastructure development.

"The state government has presented a rosy picture in the budget. It is the worst-ever budget. It has nothing for the farmers," said Congress MLA Santosh Singh Saluja.

Bishnu Charan Sethi, deputy leader of the BJP legislature party, said the budget has ignored infrastructure development while it has failed to address the concerns of the migrants, who returned to the state during the Covid-19 pandemic.