Home Minister Amit Shah dismissed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s criticism of the government on India-China tensions, saying his party and he had “no right” to point fingers on the issue. Shah said the Congress leader should first give an account to the nation on how much territory his party ceded to China when it was in power.
Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday termed the Budget 2021-22 a guide to “self-reliant India” and said it has strengthened Prime Minister Narendra Modi”s efforts towards doubling farmers” income and making India the fastest growing economy in the world.
In a series of tweets in Hindi, Shah lauded the budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and said the “all-inclusive budget” was prepared under the guidance of the Prime Minister amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
“This will pave the way for a self-reliant India, a USD 5 trillion economy and double the income of farmers,” he said.
He thanked the Prime Minister for earmarking Rs 35,000 crore for vaccine against coronavirus saying, “Our sensitive Prime Minister @narendramodi has announced Rs 35,000 crore fund for vaccination against coronavirus. This shows Modi”s resolve to make India coronavirus free. I thank Modiji for this”.
Shah said the Prime minister has been devoted to the welfare of farmers since day one and numerous efforts have been made to double their income. Taking this goal forward, he said, the government is ensuring fixing the Minimum Support Price (MSP) at one and half times more than the cost which showed the commitment of the Modi government.
The government has made a provision of Rs 16.5 lakh crore in this year”s budget to provide easy loan to the farmers of the country.
Also, the micro-irrigation fund has been doubled and five agricultural hubs will be built in the country, a move which will give boost to this sector, he said.
Shah said that the procurement of paddy at MSP has been doubled this year, benefiting 1.5 crore farmers of the country and this reflected the Prime Minister”s devotion for the welfare of the farmers and commitment for the MSP.
In his tweets with hashtag #AatmanirbharBharatKaBudget (Budget of a self-reliant India), Shah also said that the budget 2021-22 will pave the way for a self-reliant India.
The home minister said the global economy is in a reset mode after the pandemic and this budget will help India to use this opportunity to emerge stronger in the global scenario and make it the fastest growing economy in the world.
During the pandemic, India has made a quantum leap in the health sector and the health infrastructure and services will reach every village under the ‘Prime Minister Atma Nirbhar Swasthya Bharat Yojana’, announced Monday with an allocation of Rs 64,180 crore, Shah said.
He said Indian industry has also contributed significantly to achieve the goal of a self-reliant India.
“For economic reforms, Rs 5.5 lakh crore has been allocated, which will give a boost to the industries. Also for public sector banks, it has been decided to give Rs 20,000 crore,” he said.
The home minister said in ”Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0”, Rs 1.41 lakh crore has been allocated and work will be started to bring Indian cities into the category of clean and developed cities in the world.
In addition, the Jal Jeevan Mission (Urban) will be launched, which will bring clean water to 2.86 crore homes in 4,378 urban local bodies, he said.
Shah said under the Prime Minister Ujjwala Yojana, 1 crore additional women will be given gas connections. The Prime Minister is constantly striving to provide clean air and water to every citizen, and with these initiatives, women empowerment will be strengthened and pollution reduced, he said.
He said India cannot become a leading country without strong infrastructure and the Modi government has done amazing work in this field.
A sum of Rs 1.18 lakh crore has been allocated in the budget for this purpose with a special provision for road construction projects in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal and Assam, he said.
The home minister said Metro Light and Metro Neo schemes have been launched to increase the range of metro in big cities, so that metro rail facility become available in small cities and residents of Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities could commute with convenience.
“In this budget of self-reliant India, an amount of Rs 18,000 crore has been allocated for public bus transportation. This will facilitate the travel of the countrymen, increase the quality of public transport, develop the automobile sector and will also create employment,” he said.
Shah said for the betterment of education in Ladakh and the benefits of the local youth, the Modi government has decided to set up a Central University in Leh. This showed the Prime Minister”s commitment for overall development of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, he said.
