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Updated February 10th, 2022 at 21:52 IST

Nirmala Sitharaman calls UPA govt's term 'Andhakaal'; Congress, DMK & IUML stage walkout

Sitharaman said that the Opposition can do as much 'cherry-picking' as they would like but in the end "they don't have any cherries in their basket, only coal."

Reported by: Ananya Varma
Nirmala Sitharaman
Image: ANI | Image:self
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On Thursday, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman replied to MPs' questions on Union Budget 2022. During the Session, Sitharaman slammed the Congress party for questioning what the BJP was doing for the farmers and reminded them of how they had compromised their interests through the 2013 Bali Accord. 

"UPA Govt had given away our rights to secure food procurement policy. If their 2013 agreement with WTO had been implemented, this country could not have procured rice from farmers from 2017. Today, they are asking what we are doing for farmers," she said. 

UPA's regime was andhkaal: FM Sitharaman

The Finance Minister's attack did not just end there. She dubbed UPA's second term as India's 'Andhkaal' (darkness) stating that it was filled with corruption and inflation. Countering the criticism on the Union Budget, she said that the Opposition can do as much 'cherry-picking' as they would like but in the end "they don't have any cherries in their basket, only coal."

"Double-digit inflation during the ten years of UPA, particularly in UPA-2 was 'Andhakaal'. The Coal scam and then every day there were headlines about the 2G scam. The country did not know what was happening. That was 'Andhakaal'. Not knowing what to do after the global financial crisis, that was 'Andhakaal'," she said.

"Every village has been electrified in India. 'Andhkaal' (time of darkness) prevailed during their (Congress) rule, whereas now every house has got electricity in every village," she added. 

Taking offence to the Finance Minister's statements, the Congress, Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) staged a walkout, to which Sitharaman said, "Congress does not have the patience to sit in the House and face the truth. Instead, they run away."

Union Budget 2022-23 

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the Union Budget 2022-23, her fourth budget, and her second digital presentation on February 1. Designed to focus on four pillars guided by masterplan PM Gati Shakti, the Budget proposed a series of measures focusing largely on infrastructure, regulation of crypto, tax on digital assets, the rollout of 5G spectrum, river linking, E-passports, public issue of LIC IPO, amongst others. 

During her shortest Budget speech, Finance Minister announced no change in income tax slabs. However, she said that I-T returns can now be revised for omission and mistake, including declared income not reported. The changes can be made until the end of the assessment year on payment of tax.

In a relief to investors, Sitharaman announced a reduction of surcharge on unlisted shares to 23% from 28.5% earlier. The Budget also proposed taxing virtual assets like crypto and NFTs - at 30%. The corporate surcharge has been reduced to 7% from 12% earlier. 

(With agency inputs)

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Published February 10th, 2022 at 21:52 IST

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