Barring the promotion of FDI in education, SJM's co-convener Ashwani Mahajan appreciated the budget proposals.
He praised the government for reviewing free-trade agreements, saying they were not in interest of the country. He said the 16-point action plan proposed in the Budget to create income and employment in rural areas, particularly in fisheries, horticulture and other non-farm activities, is a "welcome move."
"FDI in education is wrong. It is a bad idea and we oppose this proposal," Mahajan told .
"We should not allow foreigners to enter our education sector. This will lead to westernisation of education and will not be in national interest."
Presenting the Budget, Sitharaman said the government will encourage external commercial borrowings and FDI in education to finance infrastructure and to be able to deliver high-quality education.
Mahajan said this was considered to be the "most difficult budget" of this decade but was presented in a confident manner.
A broad vision was seen in the form of provisions for corporate world, foreign investors, infrastructure, personal tax reforms etc. and also the efforts to increase the income of the common man and support the rural economy, he said. JTR JTR ABH ABH