New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday alleged the government destroyed the lives of farmers over the past fiver years, and said its Interim Budget announcement of "Rs 17 a day" for them was an insult to everything they stand and work for.
Finance Minister Piyush Goyal, in the Interim Budget Friday, said farmers will be provided Rs 6,000 per year, which amounts to Rs 16.44 daily, in three installments under a central government scheme.
"Dear NoMo, 5 years of your incompetence and arrogance has destroyed the lives of our farmers. Giving them Rs. 17 a day is an insult to everything they stand and work for," Gandhi tweeted using hashtag 'AakhriJumlaBudget'.
Presenting the Interim Budget, Goyal sought to address some of the distress that the farm sector has been facing.
He said the scheme will be "fully funded by the central government".
Budget an 'account of votes': Chidambaram
Former finance minister P Chidambaram Friday termed the union budget as an "account for votes" and not a "vote on account".
"It was not a Vote on Account. It was an Account for Votes," Chidambaram tweeted soon after the presentation of the Union Budget.
He also thanked Finance Minister Piyush Goyal for "copying" the Congress declaration that the poor will have the first right to resources of the country.
The senior Congress leader claimed that the government had missed the fiscal deficit target, as warned by him earlier.
