Srinagar: Opposition parties in Kashmir criticised the budget presented by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday, with the PDP saying it exposed the gap between the ruling National Conference’s promises and the reality of their governance, while the BJP terming it a “complete failure.”
In a statement, the Peoples’ Democratic Party said the people of Jammu and Kashmir deserve honest governance, “not broken promises”.
“This clearly exposes the massive gap between the promises made in the National Conference’s election manifesto and the reality of their governance. They had assured 200 units of free electricity for every household, creating hopes among the people of J&K.
“However, the budget announcement proves that their promise was nothing more than an election gimmick,” the party said, referring to the announcement of 200 free electricity units to families under AAY — the Centre’s Antyodaya Awas Yojana.
The party said by “limiting” the benefit only to AAY ration card holders, the government has effectively excluded a vast majority of the state’s population.
“Out of 16 lakh ration card holders, merely 95,000 will benefit, which is just 5-7 percent of the total population. This raises serious questions like why did the government mislead people during the elections? Why was this scheme not extended to all households, as originally promised? Why were 1,27,000 AAY ration card holders removed from the list right before this announcement?” the PDP said.
It said this selective approach “exposes their anti-people policies.”
The party added, “If they truly intended to help the people of J&K, they should have ensured that their promise was fulfilled in its entirety, rather than shrinking the beneficiaries to a fraction of what was originally committed.”
Peoples’ Conference chief Sajad Gani Lone slammed the budget, saying it was a “disappointment”.
“The budget speech was, as expected, a disappointment — same old style of parroting of Centrally Sponsored Schemes with Hindi nomenclature,” Lone said in a statement.
He said the budget reflected a significant gap between political rhetoric and economic figures, emphasising that the presented data contradicted the ruling party’s previous stance.
“It glorified and endorsed the BJP’s ‘Naya Kashmir’ discourse. And statistics, which have been berated by the NC over the past decade have become the gospel truth.
“Suddenly, every government statistic from the past five years is being treated as gospel truth, and the incumbent government seems eager to jump into the frame and take credit for the same statistics that, until the other day, they told us were either fudged or fiction,” Lone, the MLA from north Kashmir’s Handwara, said.
He said he had expected a politically viable and “economically vibrant” budget, and not a routine statement of outlay and expenditure.
“Even the promised 200 units of electricity are only for AAY beneficiaries and are linked to the Centrally Sponsored Rooftop Scheme, which has approximately a 65 percent Central share with a cap of 3 kW. Too many strings attached,” he stated.
The Peoples’ Conference chief said linking social welfare payments to Dearness Allowance means, “We have to pray for a miraculous zero inflation for real increase.”
“Petrol and diesel prices are set to increase by Rs 1 per litre and Rs 2 per litre, respectively, due to a reduction in rebates on petrol and diesel,” he claimed.
The Handwara MLA also said the budget neglected “key employment sectors,” emphasising that it offered nothing for job creation, daily-wagers, contractual employees, or minimum wages.
He asserted that “the soul of statehood, which we believe was stolen from us, was relegated to yet another statistic.”
In a jibe at the chief minister for praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Lone said “the saga of love letters continues. This is a love letter to BJP-Part II.”
The J&K unit of the BJP accused the NC government of “deceiving” the people of the Union Territory.
“The budget is nothing but ‘jumla bazi’ (empty rhetoric) and a stark betrayal of the promises made during the elections. Where are the 12 free gas cylinders that Omar Abdullah promised? Where is the one lakh job guarantee? Where is the free ration? This budget is a cruel joke on the people of J&K,” BJP’s J&K spokesperson Altaf Thakur said in a statement.
The BJP leader too slammed the government for offering 200 units of free electricity only to AAY beneficiaries, which he said covers just 1.5 percent of J&K’s population.
“This is outright deception. Omar Abdullah came to power by making grand announcements, but his government has failed on every front. The people will not forgive this betrayal,” Thakur said.
He said the budget is nothing but a “desperate attempt to cover up the NC government’s incompetence.
JKPCC chief terms budget ‘pro-people’
Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) chief Tariq Hameed Karra on Friday termed the J&K budget presented by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah as “pro-people” and “positive”, but said a detailed assessment is needed to identify potential gaps.
Reacting to the budget, Karra stated that all major social sectors have been addressed, with a focus on the welfare of the poorest families.
“From what we have heard so far, the budget appears to be in favour of the people. It has a lot of positivity, and almost all social sectors have been addressed,” he said.
He, however, refrained from making a conclusive statement, stating the need for a thorough review. “Only after studying the budget can we assess the gaps and whether they have been sufficiently addressed,” he added.
Karra also hinted that Congress has no immediate objections but would closely examine the modalities of implementation. “Now, let us see what modalities are fixed in this, we will find out,” he said.
Responding to the announcement of free 200 units of electricity to only AAY families, Karra said their party had also proposed the same for the poor families only.
When asked about his overall impression, the JKPCC chief maintained an optimistic stance. “The overall budget seems positive,” he said. (KNO)
