Jammu: Dismissing opposition criticism of his maiden budget, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday said his government prepared the budget with an aim to benefit the people, especially the weaker sections of society, and expedite development.
Indirectly referring to JKPC chief, Sajad Lone’s jib that the budget was ‘another love letter to BJP’, Abdullah said, the budget is a love letter to the people of Jammu and Kashmir and not the BJP, adding. “I am satisfied this is the best start for Jammu and Kashmir, given its financial position and Union Territory status.”
Talking to reporters after presenting his first budget as finance minister, Abdullah said he never claimed that everything would be set right and the National Conference government would fulfil all its pre-poll promises in its first budget.
“Ask me the question about the fulfilment of election promises at the end of my five-year term. I will happily answer every question because our mandate is for five years,” he said.
Asked about the opposition parties’ criticism that the budget was Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s document, he said, “If the prime minister wants to see Jammu and Kashmir as a developed state, should I say it should not happen? Is anyone among us saying that Jammu and Kashmir should not be developed because the prime minister had said this”
“If the Centre’s intentions with regard to Jammu and Kashmir are right, we will move in that direction but this budget is not the government of India’s budget. This budget is of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and we consulted a lot of them while preparing it. It was the first time in the country that all MLAs were made part of budget consultations and their suggestions sought,” Abdullah said.
The chief minister said Jammu and Kashmir’s six previous budgets were presented in Parliament and the people were not aware of its content.
“Even I don’t know what was there in the budget for Jammu and Kashmir but, today, people are discussing, posing questions and making statements. Had it been the prime minister’s budget, there would not have been a question-and-answer session here. Neither the prime minister nor the finance minister would have come here to answer your questions,” the National Conference vice-president said.
The public will benefit if the track of the prime minister and the Jammu and Kashmir government’s vision, as far as the Union Territory’s development is concerned, meets, Abdullah said.
The chief minister said he did not expect anything but criticism from the opposition parties because “that is why they are called the opposition”.
“If they were anything else, they would be in government,” he added.
“I believe we have presented a budget that is people-friendly. It is a love letter to the people of Jammu and Kashmir and, to that extent, the people who voted for the BJP, it is a love letter to them as well. It is a love letter to those who voted for the National Conference, Congress, the PDP (Peoples Democratic Party) and even those who did not vote,” the chief minister said, responding to the opposition terming his budget as a “love letter to the BJP” and a document of “broken promises”.
The budget was an exercise of trying to do maximum good with the least resources but the government will try to expand the social welfare schemes with improvement in its resource position, Abdullah said.
Abdullah said the emphasis of the budget was taking Jammu and Kashmir forward in a balanced manner, focusing on improving the economy, growing the investor base, expanding manufacturing, boosting start-ups and entrepreneurship, renewing focus on agriculture, horticulture and allied sectors, besides tourism.
“We are looking to grow tourism arrivals both in Kashmir and Jammu. On the governance side, there are initiatives for improving governance, asset creation and improving the social net available to the weaker sections,” he added.
Will never present Budget again while fasting: Omar Abdullah
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday said he would never present the Budget again while observing Ramzan fast.
Abdullah said this was the first budget of the J&K Assembly after 2018 and his first Budget as the finance minister.
He presented the Budget in the Assembly and spoke without stopping for almost one hour and 45 minutes while observing the sixth day of Ramzan fast.
The chief minister said he could have advanced or postponed the Budget Session.
“After today’s experience, I will never present my Budget again while having Ramadan fast. Either I will pre or postpone the session or request the Speaker with folded hands to arrange the session around 6.30 pm (after breaking the day-long fast),” Abdullah told a press conference here.
He was responding to a question about the difficulty in holding the Budget Session during the ongoing holy month of Ramzan, especially in presenting the Budget when one does not swallow even a drop of water.
The chief minister said he was facing difficulty in speaking after the Budget speech that continued for nearly one hour and forty-five minutes in the Assembly.
“Interestingly, this was also the first time that any chief minister of J&K presented the Budget himself while holding the portfolio of the finance minister,” Abdullah said.(PTI)
UT with an assembly is the worst form of government: Abdullah
Says, working with Centre on time frame for restoration J&K’s statehood
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday said his government is working with the Centre on a time frame for the restoration of statehood to the Union Territory.
Talking to reporters here after presenting his maiden budget in the legislative assembly earlier in the day, he said a Union Territory with an assembly is the “worst form of government”.
“We are working on a time frame, but I do not think it is appropriate for me to talk about it at this point in time. Needless to say that it is work in progress,” Abdullah said at a press conference.
He was responding to a question about his meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman after assuming power in Jammu and Kashmir in October last year and whether any time frame was given to him for the restoration of statehood.
Abdullah said a Union Territory with an assembly is the worst form of government in the country.
“I had no hesitation in saying this earlier, and I am saying it again that there should be only two systems in this country — either you have a UT without assembly or you have a state. A UT is an area too small to be a state, and that criterion does not apply to J&K,” he said.
Asked whether he is satisfied with the funds allocated to Jammu and Kashmir by the central government, the chief minister said he is extremely grateful for what has been given.
“I do not want to sound ungrateful by saying that we should have got more. Whatever we get, we will utilise, and what we’ve got so far, we are thankful for it,” he said.
