Harish dubs Union Budget as anti-farmer, anti-poor

Hyderabad: Lashing out at the Centre following the Union Budget, Telangana Finance Minister T Harish Rao on Wednesday said that the budget introduced by the central government was an anti-farmer and anti-poor budget which will affect the economies of the States and large scale discrimination against the state.

Responding to the Union Budget, Harish said that there was nothing in terms of the allocation of funds. They talked of seven priority areas but ignored important sectors. He said that this was a budget that goes against the interests of the country's farmers and progressive States. This is the budget that has once again done a great injustice to the state of Telangana, he said.

Harish said none of the promises made in the AP Reorganisation Act were implemented. Telangana is not given anything new in industrial corridors. Funds for the farmers have been cut heavily in the budget. Fertilizer subsidies were reduced, rural employment guarantee funds were cut, food subsidies were reduced, said Harish Rao. The tax exemptions given to employees and Singareni workers were also not promising. The employees were also misled. The burden of cesses has not been reduced. This is the budget of illusions, anti-poor budget, a budget which failed to fulfil the demands of Telangana.

It has been stipulated that 0.5 per cent Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) will be allowed only if power reforms are implemented, which means that they would install borehole meters and send the bills to the farmers' houses. This means that another six thousand crores will be lost to our state due to this provision, he said.