The opposition parties BJP, PDP and Peoples Conference slammed the budget presented by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in the Assembly on Friday.
“The budget is nothing but jumla bazi and a stark betrayal of the promises made during the elections. Where are the 12 free gas cylinders that Omar Abdullah promised? Where is the one lakh job guarantee? Where is the free ration? This budget is a cruel joke on the people of J&K,” BJP’s spokesperson Altaf Thakur said.
He slammed the government for offering 200 units of free electricity only to AAY beneficiaries, which he said covers just 1.5 per cent of J&K’s population.
“This is outright deception. Omar Abdullah came to power by making grand announcements, but his government has failed on every front. The people will not forgive this betrayal,” Thakur said.
He said the budget is nothing but a “desperate attempt to cover up the NC government’s incompetence.
Senior BJP leader and LoP Sunil Sharma also criticized the budget, alleging that it lacks provisions for daily wage labourers, the unemployed, and marginalized communities such as OBCs, SCs, and STs.
“What has Omar Abdullah kept in this budget for daily wage labourers and the unemployed? During the Lt. Governor’s administration, 45 thousand people got direct and indirect employment in J&K… The budget doesn’t have any provisions for the OBC, SC, or ST communities… None of the promises they (J&K government) made to the people are reflected in the budget,” he said.
The PDP also criticized the Budget, accusing the National Conference (NC) of failing to deliver on its election promise of providing 200 units of free electricity to every household.
The PDP said the government had assured 200 units of free electricity for every household, creating hopes among the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
"The budget announcement proves that their promise was nothing more than an election gimmick," PDP said.
The Opposition PDP said by limiting 200 units of free power benefit only to AAY ration card holders, the government has effectively excluded the vast majority of the population.
"Out of 16 lakh ration card holders, merely 95,000 will benefit, which is just 5-7% of the total population, " the party said.
The PDP also questioned why 1.27 lakh AAY cardholders were removed from the list ahead of the announcement and why the scheme was not extended to all households as promised.
"This selective approach exposes their anti-people policies. If they truly intended to help the people of Jammu and Kashmir, they should have ensured that their promise was fulfilled in its entirety, rather than shrinking the beneficiaries to a fraction of what was originally committed," the PDP said.
Peoples Conference chairman and MLA Handwara Sajad Lone termed the Budget as “disappointment".
"The budget speech was, as expected, a disappointment—same old style of parroting of Centrally Sponsored Schemes with Hindi nomenclature," Lone said.
He said the budget reflected a significant gap between political rhetoric and economic figures, emphasizing that the presented data contradicted the opposition's previous stance.
"It glorified and endorsed the BJP’s 'Naya Kashmir' discourse. And statistics, which have been berated by the NC over the past decade have become the gospel truth. Suddenly, every government statistic from the past five years is being treated as gospel truth, and the incumbent government seems eager to jump into the frame and take credit for the same statistics that, until the other day, they told us were either fudged or fiction," the PC President said.
He said he had expected a politically viable and economically vibrant budget rather than a routine statement of outlay and expenditure.
"Even the promised 200 units of electricity are only for AAY beneficiaries and are linked to the Centrally Sponsored Rooftop Scheme, which has approximately a 65% central share with a cap of 3 kW. Too many strings attached," he stated.
Lone noted that the PM, the HM, and the Union Finance Minister were praised more than once. "The saga of love letters continues. This love letter to BJP—Part II."