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ISLAMABAD: PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said on Friday that the budget and budget session of the PTI-led government are “illegal.”
Speaking at a session of the National Assembly, which was held under President Asad Qaiser’s presidency, Bilawal said it appears the government is playing the role of the opposition instead of running the country.
Criticizing Prime Minister Imran Khan’s famous rhetoric, Bilawal said it was inappropriate to compare the country run by an “illegitimate government” to the state of Medina.
Speaking of the budget recently presented by the PTI-led government, Bilawal said the masses were aware that “claims of 4% growth are based on lies.” “I think this budget and the budget session are illegal,” he said, adding that since the government took power, no new National Finance Commission (NFC) awards have been given to the provinces.
“Every budget will be unconstitutional until the NFC award is awarded,” Bilawal said, adding that the budget had relief for the rich, but nothing for the poor. Shedding light on the growing inflation in the country, Bilawal said the PTI government has “abandoned the people and left them in a state of misery.” He said people will never forgive the government for pushing them further below the poverty line.
“If the budget raises the prices of oil, gas and electricity, then every Pakistani must bear the burden of government incompetence,” Bilawal said, adding that if there had been economic growth, so many people would not be unemployed.
“The Prime Minister had promised to grant 10 million jobs to people, but on the contrary, even those who were previously employed are now unemployed”, declared the president of the PPP.
Bilawal said if the country has experienced economic growth, as the PTI-led government claims, then why does it have to “beg before the International Monetary Fund (IMF)? “If the economy has improved significantly, then the government should immediately withdraw from the IMF deal,” he said.
Once again mocking the government, Bilawal said that, according to the economic survey, the donkey population has increased in the country, for which the policies of Prime Minister Imran Khan are to be commended.
Bilawal further said that the PTI government had not even spared Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and charged residents with imposing taxes. He said only Rs12 billion had been earmarked for the agricultural sector, which is the backbone of the economy. He said the budget embodies a tax storm and an economic attack on the masses.
“The government has abandoned the farming community. They didn’t even get a fertilizer subsidy, ”Bilawal said. Bilawal He said inflation in Pakistan is higher than in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and India. He said that inflation was also present in the era of PPP, that there was a global economic crisis at that time, Pakistan was fighting terrorism, Pakistan was facing two major floods, but the PPP had introduced the Benazir income support program and did not leave people at the mercy of the situation. He said that when there was inflation in the PPP rule, it increased wages.
We increased overall wages by 120%, but by how much did you increase, he asked, adding: You didn’t increase wages at all when people were worried about the coronavirus pandemic.
He said this government has brought a tsunami of indirect taxes into this budget. Bilawal accused the foreign minister of leading the attack in parliament and said he had to take the problems of China, Saudi Arabia, India and the United States seriously.
Maulana Asad Mahmood said that no relief was given to the masses in the budget. He said the 2021-22 budget was unrealistic and would push inflation up further. Ghous Bux Mahar of GDA said special emphasis should be placed on improving agricultural productivity. He said subsidies should be given to farmers for fertilizers.
Ayesha Ghaus Pasha of the PMLN said the tax collection proposals for the next fiscal year are inflationary. She said indirect taxes will add to the common man’s woes. Muhammad Yaqoob Sheikh said that the PSDP for next year is considering allocations for the construction of major road infrastructure projects, including Balkasar-Mianwali.
Sardar Talib Nakai said industrialization is vital for a strong economy and intensive measures are needed in this regard. Yousuf Talpur of PPP said maternal treatment with Sindh should stop now. He said that more funds should be diverted to Sindh to accomplish various projects related to the road infrastructure and water resources sectors.
Farooq Azam Malik said the lollipop was donated for the southern province of Punjab, but nothing was allocated to Bahawalpur in the budget.
Meanwhile, Bilawal said in a conversation with the media that the federal and Azad Kashmir governments were contesting the elections. In a response to a question, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said the government is making false accusations against the government of Sindh.
He said GDP per capita has increased the most in Sindh, the lowest death rate is recorded in Sindh, and poverty has decreased the most in Sindh.
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