Budget 'fantastic' only on paper: Shiv Sena

The Shiv Sena on Thursday said that the Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was made keeping 2019 Lok Sabha elections in mind.

With Union Budget 2018 drawing mixed reactions from different political parties, the Shiv Sena, an ally of the BJP, on Friday said the Budget was fantastic but only on paper.

The Shiv Sena on Thursday said that the Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was made keeping 2019 Lok Sabha elections in mind.

"Jaitley's Budget was fantastic but only on paper. Farmers are committing suicide, it won't be suitable to comment about it's implementation so soon," Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut told news agency ANI on Friday.

Sena leaders had yesterday said that the government had to take "desperate measures" following criticism over the GST, note ban and the Gujarat polls results.

"This is a budget for the election. Hence, the focus has been shifted from industries to farmers, healthcare and education," Sena MP Arvind Sawant had said on Thursday. He added that the Sena had aggressively been demanding that farmers, who had lost their produce due to climate change, be compensated and their loans waived.

Sena spokesperson Manisha Kayande claimed that the Centre had taken "desperate" measures, following criticism over the Goods and Services Tax (GST) rollout, demonetisation and the BJP's reduced numbers in the Gujarat Assembly polls.

Kayande further said that while the Centre talked about a decreasing inflation, it should tell the country the reasons behind the "all-time high" fuel prices.

OneIndia News