VIJAYAWADA: YSR Congress parliamentary party leader and Rajya Sabha member V Vijayasai Reddy criticised the central government on its 2022-23 budget. He called it “no one’s budget” and blamed finance minister Nirmala Sitaraman for presenting the most disappointing budget.
Speaking on the budget in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, Vijayasai Reddy said the central government chants the mantra of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Viswas, Aur Sabka Prayas,” but in reality, it does not ensure “Saath” and “Vikas” for the states, nor does it take the states into its “Vishwas” or support “Prayas” of the states.
While terming the budget as one with “all style and no substance”, the MP said it was “awfully bad for Andhra Pradesh.”
“Budget numbers show that the Centre has deliberately increased cess and surcharges in its Gross Tax Revenue, which is not shared with the states,” he said and blamed the government for bringing down the states’ share in the divisible pool to 29 per cent from the 41 per cent recommended by the 15th Finance Commission.
Giving details about the cess collection, Vijayasai said the central government had collected 3.35 lakh crore through cess on petrol alone, while it had shared just 19,475 crore with the states. He said the central government had decreased AP’s share in the divisible pool from 6.9 per cent during 2010-15 to 4.3 per cent during 2015-20 and further to 4.1 per cent during 2021-26.
Comparing the Union budget with AP’s budget, Vijayasaid alleged that the Centre was far behind in its allocations to key fields like agriculture, education, health, social welfare and rural development.
