Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Minister of State for Tourism Suresh Gopi reacted to the INDIA bloc’s protests against the Union Budget on Wednesday. He stated that the finance ministry has given an impetus to both job creators and job seekers, and urged opposition parties to view the budget from the perspective of the people, rather than through a political lens.
Speaking to ANI, Suresh Gopi said, “It is their duty. Let them do it. Let them protest. This budget is for the country. I think the Finance Minister has done justice. I will not call it innovative, but what was most needed—a little support for the middle class—has been provided. Loyal service, I will call it that.”
“The finance ministry has given an impetus to the job makers and the job seekers. They should look at the budget with the people in view, not the politics in view,” added Suresh Gopi.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday criticized the opposition’s claim that the budget was ‘discriminatory.’ She called the allegation ‘outrageous’ and accused the opposition parties, led by the Congress, of attempting to mislead the public by suggesting that their states were neglected in terms of allocations and schemes.
This reaction followed Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge’s assertion that the budget was biased against various states. Kharge condemned the budget and claimed that only Andhra Pradesh and Bihar received attention, while other states such as Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, and Odisha were left out.
“Sabke thali khali aur sirf do ke thali mai pakoda aur jalebi. Ye do states ko chodkar, kisi ko kuch nai mila. Neither Tamil Nadu, Kerala nor Karnataka got anything. Neither Maharashtra nor Punjab nor Rajasthan and neither Chhattisgarh,” Kharge said.
He further criticized, “Even Delhi did not receive anything nor did Odisha. I have not seen this kind of budget until now. This budget has been presented only to keep some people happy and it has all been done, save their chairs, ‘Kursi bachane ke liye’ kiya gaya. We condemn this budget and protest against it. The whole of INDIA bloc condemns this.”
Following the Union Budget presentation on Tuesday, the joint opposition led a protest outside Parliament, alleging that the budget was discriminatory and lacked vision. The INDIA bloc leaders raised slogans such as “Opposition virodhi kursi bachao Budget murda baad” while holding placards, claiming the Budget was “discriminatory.”
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Congress MP Sonia Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, party General Secretary KC Venugopal, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, and TMC MP Dola Sen participated in the protest.
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