Srinagar, Mar 7, KDC: Jammu and Kashmir People’s Conference (JKPC) President and MLA Handwara, Sajad Gani Lone, has strongly criticized the recently presented J&K budget, calling it a disappointment and a politically motivated document favoring the BJP.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Lone expressed dissatisfaction with the budget, stating that it merely rehashed Centrally Sponsored Schemes with Hindi nomenclature and lacked any real economic vision. He highlighted a significant gap between electoral promises and economic realities, arguing that the government was now endorsing past statistics it had previously dismissed as “fudged” or “fictional.”
“I was expecting a politically viable and economically vibrant budget rather than an annual statement of outlay and expenditure,” Lone remarked.
He pointed out that the 200 units of free electricity were limited to Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) beneficiaries and tied to a Centrally Sponsored Scheme with several conditions. He also criticized the linking of social welfare payments to Dearness Allowance (DA), saying it would only be beneficial if inflation remained at zero—an unlikely scenario.
Lone further slammed the budget for failing to address critical issues such as employment, daily wagers, contractual employees, and minimum wages. He also raised concerns about the increase in petrol and diesel prices due to a reduction in rebate, stating that it would further burden the common people.
Taking a dig at the government, Lone criticized the shifting of the police budget being presented as an achievement and lamented that the issue of J&K’s statehood had been reduced to a mere statistic.
“If the LG address was a political relegation of aspirations, this budget is a statistical relegation of aspirations,” he remarked.
Mocking the repeated praise of central leaders in the budget speech, Lone called it a “Love Letter to BJP – Part II,“ implying that the document served political interests rather than addressing public concerns. (KDC)