New Delhi: Leader of Opposition Atishi on Tuesday slammed the Delhi budget, calling it a “hawa hawai budget” and labelling it “baseless and unrealistic”.
Atishi alleged that the BJP government deliberately avoided presenting the Economic Survey before the budget, saying, “If the government truly had Rs one lakh crore in revenue, they wouldn’t have hesitated to present the Economic Survey in the Assembly. They hid it because the numbers would expose the truth behind this hollow budget.”
She accused the BJP of slashing key allocations to essential sectors like education, health, and municipal services, saying the budget reveals the government’s “intent to weaken public services”. “For the first time in 10 years, the education budget has fallen below 20 per cent, showing their agenda to destroy government schools. Health spending has also been cut to 13 per cent — the lowest in a decade — to dismantle free treatment services for the poor,” she said.
Atishi further criticised the reduced Municipal Corporation of Delhi budget, pointing out that the Rs 8423 crore allocation from 2024-25 has been slashed to Rs 6897 crore this year, calling it an attempt to “cripple the city’s cleaning system.” She also accused Gupta of using the budget speech to target AAP and Arvind Kejriwal rather than focus on Delhi’s development.