Rajasthan Finance Minister Diya Kumari presented the Vote on Account or interim budget for the financial year 2024-25 in the Assembly on Thursday, in which she announced several measures to boost the state’s economy and welfare. The budget, which was the first of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government that came to power in December last year, proposed recruitment on 70,000 posts in various departments, providing interest-free short-term loans up to Rs 1 lakh under the Gopal Credit Card Scheme for cattle rearers, developing ‘Hi-Tech City’ near Jaipur as a hub of innovation and technology, and giving a savings bond of Rs 1 lakh on the birth of girls from poor families under ‘Lado Protsahan Yojana’ to promote girl child education and empowerment.
The Finance Minister also announced a slew of schemes and projects for the sectors of agriculture, health, education, tourism, infrastructure, and social justice. She said that the state government would provide free seeds and fertilizers to farmers, increase the number of medical colleges and hospitals, upgrade the existing schools and colleges, launch a new tourism policy and a heritage conservation fund, construct new roads and bridges, and implement a pension scheme for the elderly, widows, and differently-abled persons. She also said that the state government would allocate Rs 500 crore for the development of the Mewar region, which is the home turf of Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje.
The Finance Minister claimed that the interim budget was aimed at fulfilling the aspirations of the people of Rajasthan and restoring the state’s glory. She said that the state government was committed to providing good governance, transparency, and accountability. She also criticized the previous Congress government for leaving the state in a dire financial situation and hampering its development due to its wrong policies, corruption, poor law and order, misgovernance and appeasement. She said, “Facing these challenging circumstances, we will take the state on the path of sustainable development with the support of the Central Government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with the concrete action plan of our government, hard work and dedication.”
The interim budget, which was passed by voice vote, was welcomed by the BJP legislators, who hailed it as a pro-people and pro-development budget. However, the opposition Congress staged a walkout from the House, alleging that the budget was full of false promises and lacked vision. They accused the BJP government of neglecting the farmers, the youth, the women, and the minorities, and of failing to address the issues of unemployment, inflation, and Covid-19 pandemic.
