Opposition parties criticise budget as anti-poor, anti-people

New Delhi, Feb 28 (UNI) The BJP and other oppposition parties along with the Left allies of the UPA government termed the general budget as ''anti-poor and anti-people'' while Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Congress Party were confident that Finance Minister P Chidambaram's budgetary proposals will check the rising inflation.

Launching a scathing attack, the BJP said the budget does not address the concern of the common man and added the rise in the prices of essential commodities has been left unchecked.

Congress made an effort to project the check on forward trading as a measure to check the inflation. They also emphasised that implemenation would be better for the projects.

''It is the first budget of the next five year plan period which has concentrated on the most vital, critial and vulnerable sections of the society,'' Congress spokesperson Jayanti Natrajan said.

''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.

Terming the budget as ''unfortunate'', BJP leader Anant Kumar said Mr Chidambaram has lost the opportunity to provide any relief to the common man reeling under the high rate of inflation. He said no relief has been given to farmers who were committing suicides in many parts of the country. He said there were no measures to check inflation in the budget which is both anti-people and anti-farmers.

Samajwadi Party General Secretary Amar Singh said it was a hollow budget full of rhetoric and less on substance. He said 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 due to high prices.'' The CPI(M), CPI and Forward Bloc said the one per cent cess on education will further burden the common man who, they said, was already reeling under the impact of price rise of almost all commodities.

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