Lalu assails BJP govt over Budget, calls Modi a "dull student"

Patna, Feb 29: Criticizing the four-month compliance window announced for domestic black money holders in the Union budget, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad on Monday, Feb 29 called Prime Minister Narendra Modi "a dull student" who has been rusticated for "cheating and lying".

"PM Modi got rusticated in the 'examination' for lying to and cheating the people by offering nothing for any section of the society in the Budget which he had promised before Parliamentary polls in 2014. "He (the PM) emerged as a "bhusgol vidyarthi" (dull student) in the examination," the RJD chief said.

Prasad also attacked the BJP government over the one time four-month compliance window for domestic black money holders to come clean by paying tax and penalty of 45 per cent.

"In place of bringing back black money, the Budget has come out with an amnesty scheme for black marketeers and capitalists," Lalu said.

Making light of the claim made in the Budget that it would bring cheer for farmers by doubling up their income in next five years, the RJD chief said "the Modi government tenure is only upto 2019...how he is making promise for next five yearM (2022)...earlier in Railway budget also his government promised reservation for all passengers by 2020." He said announcements for agriculture in the Budget was nothing more than "jumla bazzi" (tall saying) and termed allocation of only Rs 36,000 crore (out of which Rs 5,500 crore is for crop insurance) as nothing but too little."

Due to social tension prevailing in the country for the last two years, there is a fall of almost 75 per cent of investment under PPP model in infrastructural sector, Lalu said. "Under 10 years of UPA rule, the growth rate was about 8 per cent which has slided to 7 per cent in the last two years," he claimed.

He was also critical of no allocation being made for realisation of special package of Rs 1.25 lakh crore and Rs 40,000 crore of previous packages in the Budget. Using lines of a popular Hindi song, "Kya hua tera vaada (what happed to your promises)," Lalu further attacked the PM.

PTI