‘Union budget failed to address economic slowdown in country’

Union budget 2023-24 tabled in Parliament by BJP government failed to address economic slowdown being faced by the country, stated Insurance Corporation Employees union state secretary G Tirupathaiah

Kothagudem: Union budget 2023-24 tabled in Parliament by the BJP government failed to address economic slowdown being faced by the country, stated Insurance Corporation Employees union state secretary G Tirupathaiah. The country’s economy has worsened due to the Covid crisis. The budget was supposed to increase the purchasing power of the people and increase the domestic demand growth rate, but it failed to achieve that, he said.

On the contrary, it has reduced the government expenditure to reduce the fiscal deficit while giving more tax concessions to the rich and cut the subsidies provided to the people, Tirupathaiah complained at a seminar organised by People’s Organisations JAC, said a statement here on Monday.

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Oxfam reports that India’s one per cent richest have amassed 40.5 per cent of the total wealth in the last two years. It would aggravate the economic crisis and the budget would affect the livelihood of the majority in the country, Tirupathiah complained.

The unemployment rate has increased to the highest level in history, funds to Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme were reduced by 33 percent in the budget, with a cut of Rs 90,000 crore food subsidy, fertilizer subsidy of Rs 50,000 crore and petroleum subsidy of Rs 6,900 crore, he said.

While demanding withdrawal of GST on essential items including food and medicine, the union leader also said that injustice was done to different communities in the allocation of funds in the State budget. Funds were not allotted to the unemployment allowance promised by the government.

Telangana State Urban Development Forum (TSUDF) district convener Kondapalli Sridhar, ILU district secretary Ramesh Kumar Makkad, LIC leaders Srinivasan, SFI district secretary Burra Veerabhadram, AIDWA district assistant secretary S Lakshmi and others were present.