The hoardings put up by the Rajasthan government in the city ahead of the state budget on Friday the 10th are suggesting that this will be a populist budget in an election year.
Chief minister Ashok Gehlot, who also holds the finance portfolio, said the budget would be grand, youth-centric and fulfill the aspirations of the people of the state.
The hoardings carrying the chief minister’s picture read in Hindi that Rajasthan’s budget is coming on February 10, with the tagline ‘Bachat, Rahat, Badhat’ (Savings, Relief and Progress).
The hoardings have been put up at prominent places in the city including Sahakar Circle, Ambedkar Circle and Gandhi Circle.
It is our endeavor to make Rajasthan the number one state in the country. The government has started many such schemes which are not there in other states. The state budget to be presented on February 10 will take it forward.
“The budget will focus on the youth, which will also fulfill the aspirations of all sections. It will be an inclusive budget,” the chief minister has said recently.
In the budget last year, Gehlot had announced the revival of the old pension scheme for state employees, which sparked a nationwide debate.
Also, the amount under the Chiranjeevi Health Insurance Scheme was increased from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh. A separate budget for agriculture was also presented by Gehlot.
Meanwhile, BJP state president Satish Poonia targeted the government as soon as the hoardings were put up in the city.
Responding to the picture of the hoarding on Twitter, Poonia posted an edited picture saying, “Sach toh yeh hai” (the truth is).
In the picture tweeted by Poonia on Monday, the hoarding’s original tagline ‘Bachat, Rahat, Badha’ was replaced with ‘Crime, corruption, paperleak’.
In response to Poonia’s tweet, Officer on Special Duty to Chief Minister Lokesh Sharma said, “It is being clearly told what is the intention of the Chief Minister for the people of the state in the upcoming budget.” But ‘the truth is’… that the BJP (State) President is not even able to wait for the budget to come and is working to edit the words of the hoardings by being prejudiced.
Assembly elections are due in Rajasthan later this year and this will be the last budget of the current Congress government. In the budget, the government can introduce many new schemes and programs for youth and social welfare.
A Congress leader said, “Since the budget will focus on the youth, there is a possibility of announcement of government jobs.”
Also, with special emphasis on the youth, the budget is expected to focus on social welfare schemes to combat inflation, one of the key issues on which the party will contest the 2023 assembly elections.
The upcoming budget is likely to incorporate Rahul Gandhi’s suggestions based on the feedback received during his Bharat Jodo Yatra that will pass through the state in December.
Gehlot has already announced that to reduce the effect of inflation, the state government will give 12 cylinders in a year to poor families at the rate of Rs 500 per cylinder.
During a public meeting in Alwar district before the completion of the Bharat Jodo Yatra part in Rajasthan, he also said that the government would consider giving kitchen kits.
The state government is also expected to make provisions for safeguarding the rights of people working in the gig economy sector, as suggested by Rahul Gandhi, a move political experts believe will give the Congress an edge in the polls.
The term gig workers refers to people who work for app-based services, such as Zomato, Swiggy, Ola and Uber.
Party sources said that various suggestions were received during the Bharat Jodo Yatra in the state. Based on the feedback some important suggestions were given by Rahul Gandhi for the party’s state unit and the chief minister, and they are likely to be included in the budget.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)