New Delhi, Feb 11
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday said “Skill India Mission” is just a hollow slogan, claiming that in the name of skilled workers, the government has pushed the youth towards becoming delivery persons.
Opposing the Union Budget 2025-26 during a discussion in Lok Sabha, the Kannauj MP said there is an absence of appropriated environment for investment that is the only key for true “Vikas”.
Raising issues like the drop in the country’s position in the hunger index and cut in the education budget, Yadav said the government is dreaming of making India the food basket of the world but it will remain to be ‘jumlebazi’ (hollow slogan) unless it first feeds the hungry in the country.
“The hunger index figures are exposing the hollow progress being claimed by the government,” he said, hitting out at the lack of efforts to control price rise.
He also slammed the Budget for not proposing measures to remove poverty, provide good education and health services and create jobs.
“There is no road map for progress in the Budget,” he said, alleging concentration of wealth in the hands of a few, the widening of disparity in society, the infringement of tribals’ rights and the crying need for reforms in the financial sector.
“Asli traqi hai wohi jo har farq mitati hai, jo har tarf khushhali ke gul failati hai (True progress is the one which brings about all-around prosperity and removes disparity), ” he said.
“Real development is the one which diminishes disparity, and an ideal Budget is the one which is democratic and paves the way for overall development and empowers the last person in line,” he said.
Slamming the poor performance of the economy, he said the government’s claim that the Budget is focused on pushing up the rate of progress exposes the fact that the rate of growth has been sluggish over the past 11 years due to lack of investment.
Yadav also decried the dependence of the Indian stock market on foreign investors' investments.
He said the BJP government’s latest Budget has nothing to offer for the development of the country or for the progress of people.
“There is no special assistance or reference to MSMEs in the Budget,” said Yadav, saying most of such units are not benefitting from its schemes as only a fraction of them were registered with the government.
He also called for special schemes for farmers and waiving their loans, providing them MSP while taking measures to protect crops from stray cattle.
He also sought measures to stop fake news, alleging that the government was busy highlighting its achievement but, in the process, ending up defaming the rivals.
Yadav described demonetisation and the introduction of GST as the biggest economic disasters in the country.
He also cited the case of a boy who was born while his mother was standing in a bank during demonetisation and urged the government to adopt him. “We had named him khazanchi (treasurer) and he has now grown up to cycle around,” he said