Budget will empower poor and give youth a better tomorrow: PM Modi
New Delhi: Describing the Union Budget as citizen friendly, development friendly and future oriented, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said it will empower the poor and provide the youth with a better future.
Terming the Budget as one that extends "hope" and boosts "self confidence", he said the policies of the government will empower the downtrodden and turn them into a "power house" for the development of the country.
In a televised address after the Union Budget was tabled in Parliament, Modi said it is a "green budget" which focuses on the environment and pitches for green and clean energy and transportation needs.
Modi said the Budget underlines structural reforms in the agricultural sector and has a roadmap to transform the farm sector and doubling farmers' income.
Lauding the Budget as a document for building a "New India", he said it will strengthen the poor and will create a better future for the youth of the country.
Highlighting the potential benefits of the Budget, the PM said it will accelerate the pace of development in the country and will greatly benefit the middle class.
"The Budget will simplify the tax process and help in modernising infrastructure in the country," Modi said.
He was of the view that the Budget will strengthen the enterprises as well as the entrepreneurs. He said the Budget will further increase the participation of women in the development of the country.
Noting that the Budget is "full of hope", he said it will boost India's development in the 21st century.
The prime minister said the Union government has taken all round steps for the empowerment of poor, farmers, dalits, oppressed and the underprivileged sections of the society.
He said this empowerment would make them the "powerhouse" of the country in the coming five years.
"The country will get the energy to fulfil the dream of a USD 5 trillion economy from these empowered sections," the PM said.
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Everything in my life began from here: Mamata after filing nomination for Bhabanipur seat
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday filed her nomination papers as the TMC candidate for the Bhabanipur assembly seat, and said everything in her life began from here.
Amid a sea of supporters raising slogans of 'Mamata Banerjee zindabad' and 'TMC zindabad', Banerjee led a roadshow from her Kalighat residence to the Alipore Survey Building, where she filed the nomination papers.
She walked nearly 800 metres with folded hands and her trademark smile, greeting party workers lined up on both sides of the road.
"I was born and brought up here in Bhabanipur only. Everything in my life began from here," Banerjee told reporters after filing her nomination papers.
Seeking support for the TMC beyond the Bhabanipur contest, she said, "I would appeal to the people, not just in Bhabanipur but across all 294 seats, to ensure the victory of our candidates. We will win with a bigger mandate."
The TMC had won 213 seats in the 2021 assembly polls.
Banerjee, however, expressed concern over the deletion of names from the electoral rolls and said her party would again move a court against the freezing of the voter list.
"I am really pained that so many names have been deleted from the electoral rolls. I fail to understand why the voter lists have been frozen. We will again move a court against it," Banerjee added.
The three-time MLA from Bhabanipur is set to take on BJP candidate Suvendu Adhikari in the high-profile contest.
Those who accompanied her during the nomination filing included Rubi Hakim, wife of Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim, TMC block president of Ward 71 Bablu Singh and Miraj Shah of the Bhabanipur Education Society.
Her family members also accompanied her.
The TMC projected Banerjee's roadshow and nomination filing as a message of Bengal's pluralist ethos in Bhabanipur, a constituency where Gujarati businessmen, Bengali families, Punjabi households and Muslim residents have lived side by side for decades.
The ruling party sought to portray Bhabanipur as a "mini-India" and a symbol of West Bengal's inclusive identity.
The elections to the 294-member West Bengal assembly will be held in two phases - on April 23 and 29. Votes will be counted on May 4.
