Chennai, February 28: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi praised the budget for 2011-12 presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in parliament Monday as being growth oriented but AIADMK general secretary J. Jayalalithaa termed it a damp squib.
“The budget will take forward the country’s economic growth in a steady pace,” Karunanidhi said in a statement issued here.
According to him, the budget has schemes for increasing farm productivity, reducing wastage, improving storage facilities and providing credit to farmers.
At a time when the farm produce prices are ruling high, the schemes listed out in the budget would result in increased farm productivity and control prices, Karunanidhi said.
Welcoming the hike in income tax exemption limit, Karunanidhi thanked the central government for agreeing to carry out the caste-based census between June and September 2011.
Jayalalithaa, in a statement issued here, said it was expected of the finance minister to exercise great deal of innovativeness, boldness, imagination and sound economic sense while drafting the budget at a time when the nation is passing through critical times.
“By doling out statistics to claim that food inflation has come down, the finance minister has taken the option of sidestepping the issue altogether,” she said.
“By making an impassioned demand to fight corruption collectively Mukherjee has shirked the government’s responsibility in this critical area of operation,” she said.
“While mentioning a five-fold strategy to deal with black money, the finance minister has not outlined any tangible proposal to bring back the lakhs of crores of Indian rupees lying in banks in tax havens abroad,” the AIADMK leader said.
According to her, except for the few sops to prop up the sagging agriculture sector Mukherjee has failed to offer much to the middle class.
Echoing similar views, DMDK founder and the actor-turned-politician Vijayakant told reporters that the budget did not have any relief for the common man.
-Agencies