TFP Bureau, Raipur, February 1, 2025: Former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has strongly criticized the Union Budget, calling it “extremely disappointing” and alleging that it fails to address key issues such as agriculture, employment, and rural development.
Baghel claimed that the budget has shaken investor confidence, leading to a stock market decline and a depreciation of the rupee, with the dollar crossing ₹86.70. “The market is falling continuously, and public trust in the Modi government’s economic policies has been broken,” he stated.
According to Baghel, the budget offers nothing for the middle class, lower middle class, poor, farmers, laborers, or youth. “This budget is impractical, unjust, and anti-middle class,” he asserted. He further argued that it lacks provisions for job creation and fails to encourage new investments, making it difficult for existing industries and businesses to survive.
Focusing on agriculture, Baghel criticized the government for not ensuring a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price (MSP) and for failing to provide relief through agricultural loan waivers. He also pointed out that the budget does not address improvements to the PM Crop Insurance Scheme.
Additionally, he highlighted the lack of any significant increase in the budget for MNREGA or its wages, questioning how employment opportunities for the youth would be generated. “There is nothing in this budget for women either,” he added.
Baghel’s remarks reflect growing dissatisfaction among opposition leaders, who argue that the budget does little to address the economic challenges faced by ordinary citizens, especially in states like Chhattisgarh.
