Budget is just fluff and cotton candy, says coalition leaders

BENGALURU: The interim Budget’s cash incentive to farmers potentially threatens to steal the thunder from Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy’s pet project — the farm loan waiver scheme — barely three months before Lok Sabha elections, but the ruling JD(S)-Congress coalition were nonchalant about it.

Leaders of the two parties dubbed the Narendra Modi government’s farm sops derisively as "cotton candy", "popcorn" and "peppermint candy" — an attempt to

payback the Prime Minister, who called Kumaraswamy’s waiver scheme "lollipop", in his own coin.

"When I had announced the Rs 48,000 crore farm loan waiver scheme for about 44 lakh farmers in the state last year, Modi had ridiculed it as lollipop," Kumaraswamy said. "Now, his government has announced Rs 75,000 crore for 12 crore farmers in 29 states. So, it should be cotton candy. I want to ask if this Budget was prepared by officials of the finance department or the RSS. It looks like friends of the BJP have prepared it."

DK Shivakumar, Congress leader and water resources minister, called it a "popcorn budget" and insisted it poses no threat to the party’s poll prospects in Karnataka. "I am not sure whether the cash incentive offered by the Modi government to farmers will help the cause of farmers, but I can guarantee that the scheme will definitely not benefit the BJP politically," Shivakumar said.

HD Revanna, PWD minister, said people were hoping the Centre would unveil a mega loan waiver scheme. "Instead, they chose to bribe farmers through cash incentives to lure them ahead of the polls," Revanna said.

G Parameshwara, deputy CM, called the Budget an "election manifesto" and claimed famers would have been better off if the Centre had offered them the "lollipop". He said cash incentives are "only a temporary solution". "The government should have unveiled a loan waiver scheme or a policy that ensures fair price for produce," he said.

Former chief minister Siddaramaiah, who has presented 11 state budgets, called Piyush Goyal’s announcements "peppermint candy" and "chocolate candy". He said Modi has betrayed farmers and youths, who were hoping for relief from drought and joblessness. "There is no mention of minorities in the entire budget," he said.

Revenue minister RV Deshpande said the government should not have restricted cash incentives of Rs 6,000 per year to only farmers who have less than two hectares land. "It should have been given to all farmers since everyone is in distress," he said.