It's a "tired man's budget": Swaraj

"It lacks dynamism and vision to overcome food insecurity and price rise"

PTI | February 27, 2010


Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj at Ficci annual meet on Saturday
Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj at Ficci annual meet on Saturday

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj on Saturday said the government has presented a "tired man's budget" which lacked dynamism and the vision to overcome food insecurity and price rise.

"This is a tired man's budget. There is no dynamism in it...it lacks vision," Swaraj said at a FICCI-organised function here.

She maintained that the allocation for increasing agricultural productivity and irrigation, among several other subjects, were too less to usher in any significant growth.

The senior BJP leader enumerated the programmes launched by the erstwhile NDA regime and alleged that the UPA had been "lethargic" in implementing them. She named the Golden Quadrilateral scheme and the interlinking of rivers as two such projects which were "slowed down" by the UPA.

Corruption, she insisted, was one reason for the delay.

On the sensitive issue of food security, Swaraj said the government had faltered as it was yet not clear about the exact number of people Below the Poverty Line who need to be covered under the Food Security Act.

"Moreover, there has been a fall of 8 per cent in the land under agriculture since last year. From 680 lakh hectares under agriculture it has come down to 626 lakh hectares, leading to a fall in production of foodgrains," she said.

The Leader of Opposition also pointed out lack of storage facilities in the government-owned FCI godowns. She also accused the Centre of providing less foodgrains to the states for disposal under the Public Distribution System.

Without proper vision and the will to implement the plans, Millennium Development Goals and Vision 2020 will not yield results, she maintained.

"We are midway for the Vision 2020 goals and need to analyse whether we are moving at the required pace. There is no scope for repentance," Swaraj said.

The Vidisha MP asserted that hunger was the biggest challenge before the country today and quoted Economic Survey figures to argue that poverty and inequality had increased in the country since the last fiscal year.

"The country needs another Green Revolution," she said.

She recalled that the BJP manifesto had identified eradication of hunger, corruption and fear as its goals if it was voted to power.

"National security, both internal and external, is a challenge. Half of the districts in the country are not under government control as the writ of either Maoists or Naxals or insurgents runs there," Swaraj said.

"Peace is a pre-requisite for development," she added.

On corruption, Swaraj said that it was a "termite" eating the whole nation.

Comments

 

Other News

Railways imposed ₹5.13 crore fine for food quality and hygiene violations

Indian Railways serve about 58 crore meals every year on an average. About only 0.0008% food quality related complaints are received on average. Based on complaints during the last three years, appropriate penal actions have been taken by IRCTC. Such actions include imposition of fines amounting to ₹5.13

STHAVAR: Why every Indian built asset needs a permanent digital identity

India has built digital systems for identity, payments, taxation, documents, logistics and public services. State governments, ministries, infrastructure agencies and urban local bodies have also created portals for land records, building permissions, project monitoring, property taxation and municipal s

Saksham Skill census identifies 22,000 job-ready candidates in one Mumbai ward

A first-of-its-kind AI-enabled skill census conducted in Mumbai`s H-West Ward has identified a potential livelihood pipeline of nearly 22,000 candidates, generated over 32,000 provisional job matches while revealing that 71.2 per cent of surveyed homemakers are willing to join the workforce, according to

GI tags: Scaling traditional wealth into global brands

Geographical Indication (GI) tags have emerged as a powerful tool for protecting India`s cultural heritage, while creating economic opportunities for local communities. By linking products to their place of origin, GI tags preserve traditional knowledge, prevent misuse, and enhance consumer trust. They h

BMC: 207 officials in ACB net, 112 still on duty, 68 retire before justice catches up

There are significant delays in the handling of corruption cases involving officials of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), a Right to Information (RTI) response obtained by rights activist Jeetendra Ghadge has revealed. As of 30 April 2026, 207 BMC officials face Anti-Corruption Bureau (A

The transformation trap: Why efficiency is not innovation

Every company is transforming, or so it claims.   There was a time when the word ‘transformation’ carried weight. It signified bold strategic shifts, reinvention of business models, and breakthrough technologies that fundamentally changed how organizations created

Upcoming Conferences



-->

Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter