Punjab budget a lollipop for the poor, says opposition
By Haider Ali and Faizan Warraich

LAHORE: Opposition parties in the Punjab Assembly on Saturday termed the budget 2015-16 pro-rich and anti-poor budgets.

They said emphasis was laid on development schemes rather than providing funds for poverty, education unemployment and health.

Opposition Leader in Punjab Assembly Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed said the PTI rejected Punjab budget. He said the rulers were acting like dictators. He said, “The people also voted for us in the general elections but the government had been pushing the opposition to a corner for the last two years.”

Talking to Daily Times, Punjab PPP President Manzoor Ahmed Wattoo said that Punjab budget speech was filled with the misplaced accolades for the Punjab chief minister and also a maze of figures.

He lamented that the Punjab government for not including the Provincial Finance Award in the Finance Bill, adding that discriminatory policy adopted in distribution of financial resources would continue to the utter dismay of the people of underdeveloped regions and their resultant acute economic deprivation.

He maintained that there was no good news for the farmers, poor people and non-gazetted government servants. He regretted that the Punjab CM praised the importance of farm to market road after 20 years of his successive governments. He said that the ruling party was allocating budget for projects like metro buses, orange trains.

PTI leader Shafqat Mehmood said the budget had given nothing more than a lollipop to the innocent people.

He said, “Now people are not ready to believe on any further promises from PML-N government regarding to come over the current issues like energy crises, high prices and lack of jobs opportunities for youngsters.”

PTI Chief Political Advisor Ejaz Chaudhry called the budget an economic death for poor people. He said the Punjab government has neglected the farmers in the budget. He said the budget has not provided any relief to poor people.

The PTI’s women wing in a statement said that budget to the poor was like a drone attack in terms of high prices and imposition of new taxes on several items.

Punjab Pakistan Muslim League General Secretary Chaudhry Zaheeruddin and former MPA Khadija Farooqi in a joint statement said that the PML denied the fiscal 2015-16 budget because it is not people-friendly. They said, “The Punjab province is under debt of Rs 700 billion of local and international banks.” They also said poverty and hunger ruled everywhere in Punjab.

Pakistan People Party (PPP) leader Begum Neelum said that Ishaq Dar prepared the Punjab budget. She said that the governments, which depend on foreign loans, couldn’t provide any relief to the poor people of the country.

Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) leader Raheeq Abbasi said the CM has kept Rs 100 billion for projects of his choice such as Khadim-e-Punjab road programme, laptops, Danish schools, orange and metro bus service.

“This is not the budget of Punjab; rather it is Shahbaz’s budget,” he added.

Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk

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