Govt ignored poor, jobless, MSMEs in Budget: Chidambaram

Former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram said on Thursday that the Union government had ignored the poor, unemployed and the MSME sector in the Budget proposals for 2021-22.

"The most deserving were left to their fate -- the poor, farmers, migrant workers, MSME sector, middle class, and the unemployed," he said while speaking on the Budget in the Rajya Sabha.

He said that the Congress "rejected" the Budget since there was nothing in it for the poor. Everybody expected it but cash transfers to the poor was not done, he added.

Chidambaram said that there was no mention of the defence sector in the Budget either and the numbers predicted therein were not correct.

"The Union Finance Minister did not mention defence in her speech, which is unprecedented. The budgetary allocation for defence in 2021-22 is Rs 3,47,088 crore as against Revised Estimates of Rs 343,822 crore in the current year, an increase of just Rs 3,266 crore," the former Union Minister added.

Congress leader Kapil Sibal had on Wednesday initiated the Budget debate and alleged that the government was giving away its assets to four-five big boys. - IANS