KD NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, July 30: The Lok Sabha approved the Rs 48.21trillion Budget for 2024-25 of the Union Government.
The lower House also approved the budget of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir with a voice vote. The Union Budget and Budget for J&K was passed by a voice vote by the Lok Sabha. The relevant appropriation bills were also passed by the House.
Replying to the debate, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the fiscal deficit of the central government is proposed to be brought down to 4.9 per cent of the GDP during 2024-25 and further to below 4.5 per cent by 2025-26.
Finance Minister added that India is the fastest-growing economy in the world and has successfully overcome the lingering impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic due to the Narendra Modi government’s robust capital expenditure push.
Criticizing the govt, Congress leader referred to the Hindu mythological epic Mahabharata to suggest that Prime Minister Modi has “trapped” India in a modern ‘chakravyuh’ like the Kauravas had done to Abhimanyu.
He claimed that six people are at the centre of this ‘chakravyuh’: Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Chief Mohan Bhagwat, and billionaire industrialists Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani.
Earlier, the budget was presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on July 23, after which discussions and debates had continued in the Parliament’s Lower as well as Upper house.
