Chennai, Feb 2 (IANS) Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) leader and superstar Kamal Haasan has said that the budget presented by Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was a “disappointment” as there is “no significant announcement for Tamil Nadu”.
The MNM leader said that even as crores of people were struggling to run their day-to-day lives, the budget showed empty exultant and added that there were no projects that were directly benefiting the poor.
“There were no announcements to uplift the rural economy. Even as there were some announcements for the middle class, it will not be helpful as they were in financial distress,” he said.
The MNM leader also said that there were no measures to control inflation and unemployment and added that the budget was beneficial to corporate interests. He also said that the budget was encouraging spending.
Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) leader and actor and director Seeman said that the budget will push people to reduce the saving mentality and that the government would lead to less investments in bodies like LIC. He said that this would hinder the infrastructure development in the country.
The NTK leader said that even the Income tax relaxation is announced only for persons opting for the new regime. Seeman said that the act of reducing excise duty for mobile phones and electronic items and not reducing the duty for fuel shows that the budget was only for the rich.
He also said that reducing subsidies for fertilisers and promising credit to the farmers will push farmers into debt. The NTK leader condemned the reduction of food subsidies by 31 per cent and fertiliser subsidies by 22 per cent.
The MDMK leader and Member of Parliament Vaiko termed the budget as disappointing and added that the budget does not have schemes to promote agriculture.
The senior leader said that the government may bring in hydrocarbon projects in Cauvery delta following the announcement of Rs 19,700 crore for Green Hydrogen mission projects.
–IANS
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