Union Finance Minister was at her attacking best against the Congress Party while supporting the budget in the Lower House. Sitharaman said that stimulus and reforms taken by the government will set up the pace to become self-reliant. She said Budget 2021 will provide the necessary impetus to the growth of the economy affected by the Covid-19 situation.

While replying to the general discussion on the Union Budget for 2021-22 in the Lok Sabha on Saturday, the Finance Minister said, the government took the challenge as an opportunity and took the steps for the long term growth of the economy. She said various policy initiatives taken by the government will lead the country to become the top economy in the world.

Sitharaman insisted that the budget is aimed at realizing PM Modi’s vision of Atma Nirbhar Bharat. Rebutting the opposition’s claim that the Union budget favour’s crony capitalism Sitharaman accused the opposition led by the Congress party of raising a false narrative against the elected government at the Centre.

In a sharpest of attacks against the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, the minister asked why Congress took a U-Turn on the farm reforms when it was very much there in there 2019 manifesto. She further added; that Congress announces loan waiver for farmers before polls and then never implements it. It has been the tendency of the party to raise false narratives it does not believe in the parliamentary democracy nor does it care about the sanctity of the constitutional bodies.

Sitharaman said that 800 million people were provided free food and 400 million were given direct cash benefits to help the poor and the needy by the Modi government during the lockdown period. Is that all for the cronies ?? She asked.

PM Gareeb Kalyan Yojana with a special package amounting to 2.76 lakh crores rupees was rolled out and not only that 80 million were benefitted under the Ujjwala Yojana. She further added that more than 27 thousand crores were disbursed under MUDRA Yojana and 10.47 crores were benefitted under PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Scheme. Alleging that 69 lakh farmers were denied the benefits of PM Kisan Samman Nidhi by West Bengal government; she alleged.

Attacking the Congress she said that Congress made a paradigm shift from hybrid socialism from the Indra Gandhi days to sudden liberalization and disinvestments in the early 90s; Sitharaman said that from the days of Jan Sangh BJP has always followed the ideology of supporting Indian enterprises. The budget has been carefully planned on the directions of the PMO to provide the much-needed impetus to the small and medium sector.