NEW DLHI, July 23: In a blend of tradition with modernity, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday presented her seventh consecutive union budget reading from a tablet PC that was wrapped in a red-coloured ‘bahi-khata’ style pouch.
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Dressed in an off-white coloured Mysore silk saree with a purple-golden border, Sitharaman’s budget speech, with a strong emphasis on employment generation, was 83-minutes long and peppered with frequent applause from the treasury benches and an occasional booing from the opposition.
Sitharaman presented the budget from the first row bench in the second block. BJP president and Health Minister J P Nadda was seated next to her.
The treasury benches welcomed the budgetary announcements by thumping their desks at least on 71 occasions during the 83-minute speech.
The strongest disapproval from the opposition was reserved for Sitharaman’s fulsome announcements for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh – two States where JD(U) and TDP respectively are crucial allies of the BJP-led NDA.
Opposition members chanted slogans ‘Sarkar ko bachane wala budget’ and ‘sarkar bachao’, ‘kursi bachao’ budget as the Finance Minister read out a slew of measures for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh.
Congress and DMK members from Tamil Nadu and Kerala were seen raising demands for relief and rehabilitation for the two Southern States hit by the fury of heavy rainfall. They appeared incensed as Sitharaman had made some announcements for rain-hit States of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Curiously, the Union Budget was silent on any special announcements for Maharashtra and Haryana, where Assembly elections are scheduled for September-October.
The Budget was also silent on announcements related to Railways or any mention of the Agnipath scheme that had generated political heat during the elections.
Frequent comments by Trinamool member Saugata Ray and DMK member Dayanidhi Maran drew the ire of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, who warned the two members.
BJP members chanted slogans of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ as Prime Minister Narendra Modi entered the Lok Sabha chamber a few minutes before 11:00 a.M. Only to be countered by ‘Jai Samvidhan’ cries by the opposition members.
Opposition members taunted the Modi Government with slogans of ‘400 paar’ as Sitharaman began her speech by thanking the people for re-electing the BJP-led NDA Government to power.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi walked up to Sitharaman to greet her after the presentation of the Union Budget.
Union Ministers K Ram Mohan Naidu (TDP) and Chirag Paswan (LJP-RV) also thanked Sitharaman for the special announcements for Andhra Pradesh and Bihar respectively.
Naidu and Paswan were also seen hugging each other, apparently celebrating the announcements made in the budget for Andhra Pradesh and Bihar.
“These announcements are for big people,” quipped Trinamool’s Saugata Ray as Sitharaman announced a simpler tax regime for foreign shipping companies operating domestic cruises in the country.
Several Rajya Sabha members had gathered in the viewers’ galleries in the Lok Sabha to watch Sitharaman present the budget.
The Finance Minister’s daughter Vangmayi Parakala and relatives including Vidya Lakshminarayan were also seen in the viewers’ gallery listening to the budget. (PTI)
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