CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury questioned the government on the purpose of Union Budget and asked why the wealthy have not been taxed further.
"Budget for whom? The richest 10% Indians owns 75% of the country's wealth. Bottom 60% own less than 5%. Why are those who amassed super profits during the pandemic, while joblessness, poverty & hunger have grown, not being taxed more?" Yechury asked in a tweet.
The budget, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, does not tinker with personal income tax rates. It also does not raise standard deduction, which was widely anticipated in view of elevated inflation levels and impact of the pandemic on the middle class.
"Anti people budget. When human suffering exponentially grew during last two years, subsidies on food, fertiliser and petroleum slashed.
"Cruel assault on people's livelihoods. Propaganda and Spin is to double farmers incomes. FM proudly announces Rs 2,37 lakh crore as MSP on wheat and paddy directly credited to farmers accounts. This is less than the MSP payments in 2020 - 21, which was Rs 2.478 Lakh Crore. Criminal assault on farmers continues," Yechury said.
He further stated that while India has 200 million people with no jobs, the finance minister did not announce any urban employment guarantee scheme.
"MGNREGA allocation remains the same as last year Rs 73Kcr, which fell short by nearly Rs 50Kcr. A criminal assault on the livelihood of our youth," he said.
CPI general secretary D Raja said that the overall allocation for agriculture and allied activities has gone down from 4.26 per cent to 3.84 per cent.
"MSP was not even mentioned in the Finance Minister's speech. Budget 2022 turned out to be a bag of disasters & deceptions. That's how Modi government intends to double farmers' income?" he said.
Raja also criticised allowing foreign universities to operate in the country without regulations is going to distort level playing field.
"Dalits and students from other marginalised communities will be the worst hit. Only the already affluent will gain from this inequality in education. Budget 2022 has not addressed growing unemployment and inequality.
"No Wealth Tax introduced to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor. Pandemic has made life difficult for commoners but providing any relief is not on the government's agenda. The rich stands to gain more," Raja said in a series of tweets. PTI ASG ZMN