Modi government's budget is of 'Sarkar Bachao - Mehangai Badhao’: AAP

New Delhi/Chandigarh, July 23, 2024: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has denounced the Union Budget by the Modi government, branding it as a "Sarkar Bachao - Mehangai Badhao” (Save the government-increase inflation) maneuver. Senior AAP Leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh lambasted the budget for neglecting farmers, women, youth, and employees while providing tax reliefs to corporate houses. The budget, he argued, fails to address critical issues like guaranteeing MSP to farmers, ending the ‘Agniveer’ scheme, reinstating the old pension system, and offering tax exemptions on essential items, including petrol and diesel. Highlighting perceived discrimination, MP Sanjay Singh noted the budget's complete disregard for Delhi, which contributes ₹2.32 lakh crores in taxes annually, yet receives nothing in return. Meanwhile, AAP MP from Punjab Malvinder Singh Kang echoed these sentiments, condemning the budget as anti-Punjab, despite Punjab's substantial contribution to the central free ration scheme.

Senior AAP Leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh and Punjab MP Malvinder Singh Kang reacted to the budget presented by the Modi government in a press conference at the party headquarters. MP Sanjay Singh said that there are two to three important things in the budget presented by the Modi government. First, for the past several years, the success of the budget has been judged by the rise and fall of the stock market. After the Modi government's budget, the stock market saw a fall of about 12,00 points. That means there is no enthusiasm in the stock market even after the budget.
The AAP Rajya Sabha MP continued, “Secondly, people from different sections who had high hopes for the budget have also been disappointed. The country's food providers, farmers, sat on the streets for a year against the three black laws of the Centre. They are demanding the Minimum Support Price (MSP). Farmers were hoping that their MSP would be doubled, but there is no provision in the budget. 750 farmers have died and are still agitating in different areas of the country including the Singhu border, Punjab, Haryana, Western Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. The Modi government has thrown out the farmers like a fly from milk. They do not even remember that farmers also live in the country.
The Senior AAP Leader mentioned that the NDA's constituent parties were also demanding to throw the ‘Agniveer’ scheme in the dustbin. This scheme is a betrayal to the country's army and our youth. However, the Modi government did not say a word on the Agniveer scheme in the budget. The youth of the country wants that army recruitment should be restored like before. The Agniveer scheme is a scheme to keep the army on contract. This is an insult to the Indian army and Mother India. That is why the AAP has been demanding to withdraw this scheme. But no budget has been set even for the army.
“The working class of this country is worried about their old age. They demand that the old pension scheme be reinstated. In the new pension scheme, the central government invests the employees' money in the share market. If the share market grows, the employees' money will grow and if the market falls, the money will be lost. Even employees earning a salary of ₹1.5 lakhs are getting a pension of only ₹1200-1300. PM Modi has disappointed the working class of the country. Mothers, sisters and the middle class were hoping that the government would give tax exemption on petrol-diesel and everyday items, which would give them relief from inflation. But the Modi government's budget has not said anything on this either,” he added.
Sanjay Singh further said that small investors in this country invest money in small companies in the stock market and run their households. The number of these small investors in the country is around 10 crores. If their families are included, then this number goes up to 30 crores. But the government has increased the tax on long-term income from 10% to 12.5% and short-term from 15 to 20 percent. That is, if any person sells their shares after keeping them for more than a year, then now they will have to pay a 12.5% tax from their income to the government. If they sell short-term shares, then they will now have to pay 20% of their income.
Speaking on the Economic Survey which was released on Monday, the AAP Rajya Sabha MP shared that the BJP people are saying that Chinese goods should not be used. Then their ‘Drama Mandli’ (drama troupe) will go to the shop selling Chinese goods and vandalize it and the news will be in the media all day. The BJP people do not ask their master that their supreme leader has increased trade with China by 68%. 
“They break the goods of an Indian who is doing business with China. They should confront PM Modi that 20 of our soldiers were slain in Galwan Valley, news comes from Arunachal and other states that China is infiltrating the Indian border, yet the Modi government has increased trade with China by 68%. That is, the government is making China earn money so that it can make more tanks and missiles and infiltrate the borders of India. At the same time, they get their party people to do dramas to boycott Chinese goods inside the country. These facts have come out from this economic survey report,” he affirmed.
Sanjay Singh said on Delhi's tax share that Delhi gives ₹2.32 lakh crores every year to the central government by combining income tax and GST. Delhiites are giving this money to the Modi government at the centre. But in return PM Modi is not giving anything to the people of Delhi. I would like to ask Nitish Kumar to come and listen to the pain of Delhi's finance minister. Delhi's finance minister Atishi will tell him the whole truth. Therefore, Nitish Kumar should also not fall into the trap of the Prime Minister. 
“9 years ago, PM Modi had promised to give ₹1.25 lakh crores to Bihar during a rally in Bihar. But even after 9 years, the people of Bihar have not got anything. In this budget, PM Modi has announced ₹26,000 crores for Bihar. In which many highways and bridges will be built. Although these are not being built anywhere in the whole country. But he has added this also and said ₹26,000 crores. I would like to tell Bihar CM Nitish Kumar that there is no trust in this government. They have already fooled Bihar for 9 years. Therefore, this time we will take this ₹26,000 crores quickly,” he conveyed.
Sanjay Singh said that out of the ₹325 crore declared for Delhi so far, this time they did not give even a single rupee to Delhi. Despite collecting ₹2.32 lakh crores tax from the people of Delhi, the Modi government at the centre did not give even a single rupee to Delhi. Delhi is ruled by the AAP and CM Arvind Kejriwal that's why they have ill will and hatred for Delhi in their hearts. They are discriminating against Delhi. In the tax that goes to the central government, the states get about 15% tax share, and Delhi is asking for only 10%. Delhiites pay ₹2.07 lakh crores as income tax. Out of that, Delhi should have received at least ₹20,000 crores, and ₹10,000 crores each should have been given to the MCD and the Delhi government, but the Modi government did not give even this.
“This budget is a budget of saving the government, increasing inflation and a gimmick. The people of the country got nothing. Farmers, youth, mothers and sisters, businesspersons and employees, none of them got anything. While the tax on corporates was not increased, there can be news of relief for them,” asserted the senior AAP leader.
AAP MP Malvinder Kang termed the budget 'anti-Punjab'
Said - Punjab, which contributes 50 percent of the free ration being given to 80 crore people, was not mentioned even once in the speech
AAP MP Malvinder Singh Kang, while reacting to the budget, said that Punjab was not even mentioned during the entire budget speech, whereas Punjab is the state which works to fill the food reserves of the country. Punjab alone contributes 50 percent of the food grains that the central government gives to 80 crore people under the Food Security Act. At the same time, soldiers from Punjab are martyred every day on the borders of the country, but it is very unfortunate that Punjab was not even mentioned in the budget.
Kang said that in the budget, a special package was announced for the damage caused by floods in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, but no announcement was made in the budget for the crops of Punjab which suffered the most damage due to the floods.  Kang said that in the last budget, a subsidy of Rs 25,000 crore was announced for Punjab on fertilizers and related things, this time it was reduced by 36 percent to Rs 16,000 crore, while the price of diesel-petrol and other things has doubled.
Kang said that the farmers of the country are demanding a law guaranteeing minimum support price (MSP) for crops. For this, the farmers of Punjab have been sitting on dharna on the Haryana border for many months. A young farmer of Punjab also died during the protest, but there was no mention of MSP in the budget. This is a great injustice to the farmers of Punjab. This shows that Prime Minister Modi does not care about farmers and laborers.
He said that Punjab is a border state. Therefore, Punjab needs additional funds to protect the border and stop drug smuggling from across the border. Kang said that it seems that through the budget, Prime Minister Modi has tried to save his government, so an attempt has been made to especially please Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu.