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Arjun Munda
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Ranchi, Feb. 28: Politicians in Jharkhand have scoffed at the Union Budget, saying it had little for the state, days after they expressed with the rail budget.
Former chief minister and BJP leader Arjun Munda said Jharkhand had been given a raw deal in an “unrealistic” budget. He claimed a paltry Rs 10,000-crore allocation for food security was a cruel joke played on the poor.
“The budget boasts that Rs 25,000 crore has been allocated for the first time for the tribal sub-plan. But how will it really benefit Jharkhand remains a mystery. Can a tribal or forest-based economy be improved through tribal sub-plan alone?” he questioned.
He argued that though Jharkhand accounted for the country’s richest mineral reserves, the budget did not lay any stress on the growth of indigenous technology in the tribal heartland.
JVM principal general secretary Pradeep Yadav said it was shocking to learn that Jharkhand will not be given new additional roads under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana.
He deplored that none of the handful of sports training centres promised had landed in the state’s kitty, whereas hopes of an AIIMS centre in Jharkhand, too, remained elusive. “We are going to make these election issues.”
Congress state president Pradeep Kumar Balmuchu, however, claimed it was a balanced budget.
He said the proposed food security bill would prove to be a boon for the poor, while a biotechnology institute in Ranchi, additional funds for Integrated Action Plan schemes et al would change the face of Jharkhand in the coming days.
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