Chandigarh, Feb 1 (IANS) AAP Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab, Sanjeev Arora, on Wednesday described the Budget presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament “disappointing”.
In a statement, he said, “I am really disappointed with Union Budget”, adding the people were expecting much more.
He said tax benefits proposed in the Budget “are almost nil if inflation is taken into account”.
He said there was nothing much announced for the industrial sector. “Textile industry, one of the biggest employers, which is reeling under huge losses, has been left out of any reprieve,” he said.
Even the housing industry, another big employer, did not get any boost in the shape of incentives, he said.
At the same time, he said, “The only good thing in the Budget is a substantial increase on infrastructure expenses.”
Arora regretted the health expenditure has been reduced from 2.20 per cent to 1.98 per cent of the GDP, which is not a good sign for people of the country. “Rather, it should have been at least three per cent of the GDP,” he opined.
He regretted that the Budget has totally ignored Punjab as there is nothing specific about people of this state.
–IANS
vg/vd
A