Trashing the Union Budget as high on pomposity and low on tangibles, Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Amarinder Singh on Saturday said the economy was clearly not a priority for the BJP-led Central Government, which was too busy pursuing its negative and divisive agenda.

There was nothing in the budget, he said, that could pave the way for economic reforms or raise public consumption that was imperative for reviving the economy.

The budget was nothing but mere rhetoric, said the CM, adding that it had failed to address the problems of any section of the society, be it the farmers, the youth, the industry/business or the middle class and the poor.

Far from reviving business sentiment, the non-visionary budget, which reflected the Union Government’s total apathy to the needs and aspirations of the people, would plunge the economy further to abysmal depths, warned Amarinder.

Pointing to the finance minister’s failure to even mention the economic slowdown of 2019-20, the CM said this showed that the Centre had no intention of addressing the problems faced by the economy.

The budget has dashed the hopes of one and all, with the farmers still waiting for a solution to their debt stress and the challenge of stubble burning, the industry feeling ignored, and the youth still waiting for the light at the end of the dark tunnel into which this government has thrown them, Amarinder said.

The 16-point Action Plan for Agriculture makes no mention of any initiatives or schemes to encourage crop diversification, noted the CM, adding that with buffer stocks of food grain already putting a strain on the states (including Punjab) and farmers, failure to diversify would further aggravate the problems for the country on the agriculture front.

Amarinder also castigated the failure of the Central government to provide the much-needed push to infrastructure. “And what is there in the budget to strengthen and upgrade the irrigation and power sector? How can India progress without infrastructural development?” he asked.

Even the defence sector, which one would have assumed to be a key priority area for any government in these dangerous times, had not got its due, Amarinder lamented, terming the Rs 10,340 hike provided for modernization of the defence forces and purchase of new weapon systems as a pathetic joke. “This is worse than the increment even a clerk expects at the end of the year,” he quipped.

The CM also flayed the Centre’s failure to address the concern of the states, including Punjab, on the delays in release of GST compensation. “Where will we get the money for the development of our state?” he demanded to know.

The budget offers no cheer for the industry, with a meagre Rs 27300 Cr allocated for promotion of industry and commerce, said Amarinder.