Ponnala Lakshmaiah Slams President's Budget Speech

Former TPCC head Ponnala Lakshmaiah today slammed President Ram Nath Kovind for his address at the joint session of Parliament, which flagged off this year's Budget Session.

The Congress leader alleged that the latter's speech was one that was aimed at putting forward the agenda of the union government, and was not a presidential address.

"It is unfortunate that several lies were parroted by the first citizen of the country in his Budget speech today," he said.

Lakshmaiah also mocked the President for saying that the union government would procure the crops of the farmers of the nation at the relevant MSPs as per the recommendations of Professor M S Swaminathan's Swaminathan Commission on agriculture.

"Didn't the BJP-led Centre make a similar promise in its election manifest before the last elections? Didn't the same government then fail to keep its word by saying that it was not possible to provide the MSP? I would like to remind the Centre that it had promised to double the income of the farmers by 2022. It has but one year left to keep its word," he said.

"Despite the claims made in today's presidential address, the Centre has been unable to meet its loan disbursal target, or to increase the MSP so far," the former TPCC head alleged.

He also demanded that the Centre withdraw its three controversial farm Acts at the earliest as the laws had been brought in to "profit only the nation's corporate sector".

As per tradition, President Kovind today addressed the joint session of Parliament, which flagged off this year's Budget Session. In his address, he highlighted the Centre's plan and policy vision for the coming fiscal year.

The President's claim that the Centre would invest heftily in agriculture may have left many in the country puzzled, as the Centre has been locked in a seemingly-unending stand off with the country's farmers who have been protesting its decision to bring in three "anti-farmer" agricultural laws.