Pegasus Spin Budget: Mamata Banerjee Slams Budget 2022-23, Says Centre ‘Lost in Big Words’

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget in Parliament and said the country's economic growth is expected at 9.2 per cent in the current financial year, on the back of a sharp rebound in the economy.

Kolkata: Terming the Union Budget 2022-23 as ‘Pegasus Spin Budget’, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that there is nothing in it (Budget) for the common man who has been hit hard by unemployment and inflation. Banerjee said the Centre was lost in “big words” signifying nothing. “BUDGET HAS ZERO FOR COMMON PEOPLE, WHO ARE GETTING CRUSHED BY UNEMPLOYMENT & INFLATION. GOVT IS LOST IN BIG WORDS SIGNIFYING NOTHING – A PEGASUS SPIN BUDGET (sic),” she tweeted.

Echoing the Chief Minister’s words, Amit Mitra, Principal Chief Advisor to Banerjee, said, “Nothing has been done to address the core problems of the country like unemployment and inflation. The directionless Budget will only serve one or two people of the country.”

Bluff or lack of understanding: Mitra

“It is either bluff or there was a lack of understanding of the economic situation. The government is only tinkering with the old policies. There is also no change in the tax slabs for the salaried middle class. There is nothing in this Budget that will address high unemployment, inflation and issues faced by farmers and small and medium enterprises. No sector of the society will benefit from it. People in the informal sector will not survive. This Budget is probably serving the misplaced dream of one or two people,” said Mitra, a former Finance Minister of West Bengal.

Hitting out at the Centre for catering to the “interests of only a section of people”, Mitra said, “There is nothing about the centrally-sponsored schemes, nor there is anything about the social protection schemes for the people. There is nothing in the Budget for the senior citizens. Then what is the Budget for? When the informal sector has been fractured because of the pandemic situation, there is nothing in the Budget to repair the supply chain.”

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget in Parliament and said the country’s economic growth is expected at 9.2 per cent in the current financial year, on the back of a sharp rebound in the economy.

(With inputs from agency)