Hooda said he hoped that the Budget would have a new plan to overcome drug addiction but no special attention was paid to these issues in the budget.
CALLING THE 2020-21 Haryana Budget “directionless”, former chief minister and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Friday said it would push the state further into the debt trap.
“The loan which was Rs 61,000 crore in 2013-14, has increased more than three times today and that too without any major development projects in the state. The BJP government while breaking all records has put the state under debt of Rs 1,98,700 crore. The BJP-JJP government has pushed the state in a situation where every child in Haryana is born with a debt of about Rs 80,000,” he added.
“From the formation of Haryana till 2014, the total debt on the state was Rs 61,000 crore while the BJP government alone has taken three times more loan than that taken by all previous governments in Haryana,” he further said, demanding that the BJP government should issue a white paper and tell the people where the loan money was used.
“Increasing debt on the state is beyond comprehension because no major project, no major institute, no new metro line, railway line, new power plant or big industry came in the state ever since the BJP government took office in the state. Nobody knows where has the money gone,” he claimed.
The former CM said Khattar has made “only empty promises” in the Budget as “30 per cent of it goes towards paying interest and principal of the loans”. “The remaining amount goes towards payment of pension, salary and other services. In such a situation, where will the funds come from to build roads, schools, colleges, hospitals and universities?” he asked.
Hooda said the Budget had made it clear that JJP had “completely surrendered” before the BJP in their “greed for power” and forgotten about its poll promises. “None of his election promises have found a mention in the Budget. Therefore, there is no Common Minimum Programme of this government and even if a programme is now announced, it would have no meaning,” he added.
“All demands of people like old pension scheme, old age pension of Rs 5,100, Punjab pay-scales for government employees, loan waiver of farmers and giving bonus on the crops of the farmers have been completely ignored,” Hooda said.
The Leader of Opposition said he hoped that the Budget would have a new plan to overcome drug addiction but no special attention was paid to these issues in the budget. “There is no direction in the budget to reduce drug and crime,” he claimed.
State Congress president Kumari Selja said the promises made by BJP-JJP have no mention in the budget. “There is no mention of pension of Rs 5,100, restoration of old pension and unemployment allowance,” she said.
Senior INLD Abhay Chautala expressed surprise over the allocation of just Rs 100 crore for completion of SYL canal construction. “The SYL is lifeline of the state but provision of just Rs 100 crore for this purpose shows that the government is not serious to get executed the orders of Supreme Court for its construction,” he said.
Senior Congress leader Randeep Surjewala said Khattar had presented “a hopeless, anti-people, debt ridden and zero performance Budget”.
“The BJP-led government has pushed Haryana to the verge of bankruptcy,” he said, adding that state debt has increased by nearly 280 per cent in five years.
He further said that the Budget gave “zero hope” to the youth and asked why it did not mention how many jobs it would create as the state had the “highest unemployment rate in the country at 28.7 per cent”.
Haryana BKU leader Gurnam Singh said the budget has “little” allocation for agriculture. No announcement has been made for farm debt waivers, he further said, adding, “No roadmap has been declared to protect the agri sector.”
(With PTI inputs)