New Delhi: The Delhi Assembly on Thursday started discussions on the Budget tabled by deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia. During the discussion, the Aam Aadmi Party legislators lauded the Budget by terming it “historic” and “pro-common man.” The Opposition, however, tried its best to be critical of the Delhi government’s Budget in the House, which has an overwhelming majority of the ruling party legislators.
AAP legislator from Chandni Chowk Alka Lamba started the discussion on the Budget presented on Wednesday saying that all the states should take a take a cue from Delhi and table “outcome Budget”, instead of a traditional one. “The Budget presented by the deputy chief minister has changed the perspective of the entire nation. The other states should also start thinking on the lines of Delhi and present a Budget that benefits the common people. Finance minister Manish Sisodia has made the Budget simple for a common man, which used to be very difficult for the people to understand. The Budget shows the government’s vision for development in the city,” she said.
AAP legislator from Gandhinagar Anil Kumar Bajpai said that the Budget will keep up the hopes of the people and shows the commitment of the government towards development. MLA from Rohtas Nagar Sarita Singh said that this is for the first time an outcome Budget has been tabled. “Till now, Budget used to be limited to the books. But this time, it will actually measure the outcome of the money spent and the government will monitor the expenditure,” she said.
Apart from these, ruling party legislators, including Rajendar Pal Gautam, Bandana Kumari, Shri Dutt Sharma, Ved Prakash and Jitendar Kumar, also participated in the discussion asserting that the Budget presented is pro-common man and development-oriented.
Adopting a cautionary tone, BJP legislator Jagdish Pradhan reminded the government that it has forgotten its promises of providing wi-fi connection to the entire city and mohalla sabhas. He said that though the government has made tall promises for the water distribution in the city, in reality, many areas were receiving water supply after four to five days. “The water in the tubewells is also polluted,” he said.
