In Lok Sabha, Opposition targets govt on inflation, unemployment issues

Hitting out at the government, Opposition members on Wednesday in Lok Sabha claimed that the rate of unemployment in the country had increased and more people were pushed into poverty due to its ”flawed” economic policies. Initiating the debate on the Union Budget, Gaurav Gogoi, the deputy leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha, said the government has failed to rein in inflation and its policies, outlined by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, will ”benefit companies on Dalal Street and not the common people”. Taking a swipe at the government, Gogoi said he would give an ‘A’ rating to the Union Budget but it is not the ”A rating we used to get in school”, and added that he was referring to a corporate group. Every announcement made in the Union Budget was for the benefit of a particular corporate group and there was ”nothing for the common people”, Gogoi claimed. The Congress member said the government has announced capital expenditure to the tune of Rs 10 lakh crore of which nearly Rs 5 lakh crore was for infrastructure projects such as highways, railways and airports.