No fund has been allocated for the welfare of people living below the poverty line

Trade unions have criticised Finance Minister P. Chidambaram for presenting a “pre-election lollipop” budget to “deceive the people.”

Communist Party of India MP and All-India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) general secretary Gurudas Dasgupta said Mr. Chidambaram was trying to win over the people with the 2014 general election in mind. When there was enough number of banks and women employees in them, what was the need to set up an all-women bank, he asked.

He said no fund was allocated for the welfare of people living below the poverty line (BPL), who account for more than 40 per cent of India’s population. When the ‘aam aadmi’ was suffering because of the steep increase in the prices of essential commodities, no scheme was proposed to ameliorate their problems.

Rajya Sabha member and Indian National Trade Union Congress president G. Sanjeeva Reddy said it was a “status quo” budget, with no plans for the future. It offered nothing for the welfare of the poor and workers.

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