Budget anti-poor, anti-people: Left, BJP, SP, JD(U)

New Delhi, Feb 28 (UNI) Launching a scathing attack on the budget presented by Finance Minister P Chidambaram today, the left parties and the opposition BJP, Samajwadi Party and Janata Dal (United) were unanimous in terming it ''anti-poor and anti-people'' with nothing being done to control the rising prices.

''Aadmi ka khana mahnga aur kutton ka khana sasta ho gaya hai, woh bhi videshi kutton ka (Peoples food has been costlier while dogs food has become cheaper, that too pedigree dogs),'' was the common comment made by most political leaders when asked to react on the fourth budget of the UPA government.

However, the Congress made an effort to project the check on the forward trading as a measure to check the inflation.

They also emphasised that implemenation would be better for the projects.

''Congress ka hath Aam Admi ki gardan par,'' was the spontaneous reaction of Samajwadi Party General Secretary Amar Singh who said that it was a hollow budget full of rhetorics and less on substance. He said that the Congress has not learnt its lesson from poll defeat in Punjab and Uttarakhand. He said that ''Manmohanomics and Chidambaramism would not fetch the Congress votes in the coming elections in Uttar Pradesh where people are suffering from high prices.' Charging the Congress with working for the Corporate Houses and not for people, he said that there is nothing in the budget for the common people, especially for the poor who donot understand GDP and sensex. He also hinted that the relief given to the plastic industry was meant to ''benefit a particular corporate house.'' Terming the budget as ''unfortunate'', BJP leader Anant Kumar said that Mr Chidambaram has lost the opportunity to provide any relief to the common people reeling under the high rate of inflation. He said that no relief has been given to farmers who were comitting suicides in many parts of the country. He said that there were no measures to check inflation in the budget which is both anti people and anti-farmers.

Stating that he was ''deeply and extremely sorry'' for the budget, Mr Gurudas Das Gupta of the CPI said that it was benign and colourless and not meant for the common people. There was no thrust on agriculture and problems fo poverty and unemployment remained unanswered in the bueget. He said that the the Congress has not learnt any lesson from the electoral debacle it has faced yesterday.

More UNI