(ET)
Union finance minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday refuted allegations of the ruling Left Front in Tripura, which has called the Budget “anti-poor and middle class”, by arguing that the Budget has proposed a healthcare scheme for 10 crore families and provided huge relief to farmers.
Jaitley, who was in the Tripura capital to launch the BJP’s ‘vision document’ ahead of the assembly polls in the state, said: “My Budget has provided relief to the salaried class. pensioners have been provided relief to the tune of Rs 12,000 crore.” Rubbishing allegations that the BJP-led NDA has cut finances to Tripura, Jaitley said that funds are allocated by the Finance Commission, depending upon local resources.
“There is no personal choice in allocating funds to the states – it follows a system,” he said. “The Government of India has allocated huge funds to social sector schemes and will spend close to Rs 1,70,000 crore on the right to food,” said Jaitely.
