PC, BJP, PDP Unite in Criticism; Call Document a ‘Repackaging of Central Schemes’
Suhail Khan
Jammu, Feb 07 : The Jammu and Kashmir administration’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year faced a concerted and fierce onslaught from opposition parties on Friday, with leaders branding it a “bureaucratic document,” an “anti-people” exercise, and a “hopeless” plan that offers no healing to the region.
The criticism, cutting across party lines, accused the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah-led government of lacking political vision, failing to address rampant unemployment, and presenting a financial plan tailored only to “please the central government.”
‘Only Input is Thanking Delhi’: Lone
People’s Conference (PC) chief Sajad Lone launched a scathing attack, dismissing the budget as a mechanical exercise devoid of political imagination.
MLA from Handwara stated, “There is no political input in this. The only political input is that the National Conference is thanking the central government again and again. They are trying to make them happy.”
He asserted that the budget offered nothing new for the Union Territory. “There is nothing. It’s a repetition of central schemes,” Lone claimed, pointing to the marginal increase in the total outlay from ₹1.12 lakh crore to ₹1.13 lakh crore. “That’s less than the inflation rate. So, there is nothing,” he argued, stating it represents a cut in real terms.
Expressing deep scepticism on employment promises, Lone employed a pointed metaphor: “They say, ‘throw it in the long grass.’ On employment generation, nothing will happen. I can’t see it.”
‘Budget for NC MLAs, Not for People’: LoP Sharma
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Leader of the Opposition (LoP), Sunil Sharma, launched a blistering attack, calling the budget “anti-people” and alleging it was designed primarily to benefit the legislators of the ruling National Conference (NC).
“This is a budget for the MLAs of the National Conference. The money requested from the Indian government has been shifted to them so that the looting continues. There is nothing for the common masses,” Sharma alleged.
He accused the government of playing “a bad joke” on the youth and daily wagers, offering them “toffees and lollipops” instead of a concrete regularization policy. Dismissing the promise of providing jobs within 180 days as hollow, Sharma claimed, “People are waiting, their age is increasing… but there is no concern for merit.”
The LoP further criticised the government for “outsourcing” 24,000 jobs and termed recent electricity subsidy announcements a “clever” deception. “This is a total anti-public, anti-people budget. You cannot expect more from this administration,” he concluded.
‘A Hopeless Document’: PDP’s Para
Senior People’s Democratic Party (PDP) leader and legislator from Pulwama, Waheed-ur-Rehman Para, dismissed the budget as a “hopeless” document that offers “no healing or hope” to the people.
“This budget is a reflection of your intent, and that intention is missing,” Para stated. He highlighted that the budget, presented amid high expectations, has failed to address core issues plaguing the region’s youth, daily wagers, horticulture sector, and farmers.
The PDP leader accused the government of playing with numbers for media headlines, citing unfulfilled promises like cooking cylinder subsidies from the previous year. He highlighted a stark contradiction: “They say industries should prioritise J&K youth, but the government itself is outsourcing its posts.”
Para pointed to a critical policy vacuum, noting the absence of an industrial policy for over 1.5 years. “The purpose of policy is to create incentives. This government has not had an industrial policy for 1.5 years. So what was said about handicrafts and handlooms? There is no policy,” he questioned.
Branding the budget as “vague” and a mere “repackaging of centrally sponsored schemes,” Para asserted it fails to answer the fundamental question: “What did the common man get in this budget?”
