‘Budget for NC MLAs, Not for People’: LoP Sunil Sharma

Suhail Khan

Jammu, Feb 06: Senior Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Leader of the Opposition (LoP), Sunil Sharma, launched a blistering attack on the Union Territory’s budget on Friday, calling it “anti-people” and alleging it was designed primarily to benefit the legislators of the National Conference (NC).

Speaking to Kashmir Convener outside the legislative assembly, the BJP leader claimed, “This is a budget for the MLAs of the National Conference. The money requested from the Indian government has been shifted to them so that the looting continues. There is nothing for the common masses.”

Sharma accused the government of playing “a bad joke” on the youth. “The daily wagers have been given toffees and lollipops for the past 1.5 years. There is no concrete, phased policy for their regularisation,” he said.

He dismissed the government’s promise of providing jobs to the unemployed within 180 days as hollow. “There is no progress in this budget. People are waiting, their age is increasing… but there is no concern for the merit of students,” Sharma said.

The LoP accused Chief Minister Omar Abdullah of outsourcing 24,000 jobs to a company. “There is no merit, no interview, no application form in this. Those jobs will go to people from outside,” Sharma claimed, suggesting a process devoid of transparency that sidelines local merit.

The BJP leader also criticised recent announcements on electricity subsidies, terming them a “clever” deception. “They promised 200 units. When questioned, they say it was their ‘cleverness’ and talk of solar panels. This is making fun of the poor,” he said.

Sharma branded the entire budget as “disgusting and disappointing,” alleging it lacked any mention of capital expenditure and failed to address the needs of Below Poverty Line (BPL) and Economically Weaker Section (EWS) families.

“This is a total anti-public, anti-people budget. You cannot expect more from this administration,” he said.