Mumbai, March 6 – Former chief minister and Shiv Sena UBT leader Uddhav Thackeray on Friday described the Maharashtra budget as a "mirage of development," claiming it involves "setting off firecrackers on borrowed money" while the state's financial condition remains dire.
Uddhav Thackeray remarked that the budget focuses on schemes benefiting contractors, while offering common citizens an "elevated highway of lies."
He dismissed the farm loan waiver as a "false invitation," stating that while the CM claims to have cleared farmers' debts, the reality on the ground is different.
"If they truly want to help farmers, they should stop playing word games with terms like 'terms and conditions' or 'eligible-ineligible.' With the mention of 2047 in the budget, is the government planning to waive loans in 2047?" he questioned.
Former minister and Shiv Sena UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray alleged that the budget seemed more like a budget for contractors than for Maharashtra. Essentially, every minute of the long speech was spent on policies and announcements for contractors. The bigger issue is, even with this kind of expenditure and proposed spending on contractors, the quality of the work is horrible – look at the recent road constructions… and oh! The Mira Bhayandar flyover by the MMRDA.
“More so, it is an 'Alice in Wonderland' budget where the CM is blissfully unaware of the ground reality and what is being shown to him by people around him. The entire speech was peppered with policy decisions taken in the past, and everything for 2047… for everything, you must wait till 2047! The farm loan waiver is an eyewash. No clarity on eligibility of farmers, no clarity on the process and the timeline… unlike the one given by the CM Uddhav Thackeray leading MVA in 2020- that was time-bound and simple,” he remarked.
Aaditya Thackeray further said, “The speech had a few good jokes- the government intends to plant 300 crore trees. I personally thought this was a really nice joke, looking at the way the BJP government wants to hack trees everywhere. Once again, Alice in Wonderland budget! For anything to happen, if it is the same government, wait till 2047!”
The state Congress President Harshvardhan Sapkal criticised the government for creating a mountain of debt, warning that a budget with a deficit of Rs 40,000 crore is leading Maharashtra towards bankruptcy.
Sapkal noted that while projects like the Bullet Train, Metro, and underground tunnels are being hyped, the rural poor, tribals, labourers, women, and the unemployed find no place in this budget. He argued that the budget caters only to a few cities and select individuals.
He further highlighted that the state spends approximately Rs 65,000 crore annually just on loan interest repayments. Despite large allocations, funds aren't actually spent, and he warned that the promise of 75,000 jobs might turn out to be as deceptive as previous "mega-recruitment" drives.
The state NCP SP president, Shashikant Shinde, said that it is a deceptive budget that shows dreams of 2047 while ignoring current issues.
“By including provisions for dreams 20 years away in a one-year budget, the government is misleading the public. We don't oppose the naming of deities or the restoration of forts, but the vision to provide justice to farmers and the common man, following the ideals of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, is missing. Where is the actual financial provision for the Bullet Train and Metro? This budget merely boosts the toll-collection system,” he commented.
