Srinagar, Mar 7 (UNI) Opposition parties People's Democratic Party (PDP), Bhartiya Janata Party and Peoples Conference slammed the J&K government’s budget which was presented in the Assembly by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday.

The PDP criticized the Budget, accusing the National Conference (NC) of failing to deliver on its election promise of providing 200 units of free electricity to every household.

The PDP said the government had assured 200 units of free electricity for every household, creating hopes among the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

"However, the budget announcement proves that their promise was nothing more than an election gimmick, " PDP said.

The Chief Minister in his budget speech announced 200 units of free electricity for Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) families.
The Opposition PDP said by limiting this benefit only to AAY ration card holders, the government has effectively excluded the vast majority of the population.
"Out of 16 lakh ration card holders, merely 95,000 will benefit, which is just 5-7% of the total population, " the party said.
The PDP also questioned why 1.27 lakh AAY cardholders were removed from the list ahead of the announcement and why the scheme was not extended to all households as promised.

"This selective approach exposes their anti-people policies. If they truly intended to help the people of Jammu and Kashmir, they should have ensured that their promise was fulfilled in its entirety, rather than shrinking the beneficiaries to a fraction of what was originally committed," the PDP said in a statement.

'The people of Jammu and Kashmir deserve honest governance, not broken promises, " it added.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has launched a scathing attack on Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s recently presented budget, calling it a “complete failure” and accusing the National Conference (NC) government of deceiving the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

BJP J&K spokesperson Altaf Thakur termed the budget as nothing but “jumla bazi” and a “stark betrayal” of the promises made during the elections.
“Where are the 12 free gas cylinders that Omar Abdullah promised? Where is the one lakh job guarantee? Where is the free ration? This budget is a cruel joke on the people of J&K,” Thakur said.

The BJP leader slammed the government for offering 200 units of free electricity only to AAY beneficiaries, instead of extending the benefit to all, as was promised.

“This is outright deception. Omar Abdullah came to power by making grand announcements, but his government has failed on every front. The people will not forgive this betrayal,” the BJP spokesperson warned.
Handwara MLA and PC President Sajad Lone termed the Budget as “disappointment".

"The budget speech was, as expected, a disappointment—same old style of parroting of Centrally Sponsored Schemes with Hindi nomenclature," Lone remarked.
He said the budget reflected a significant gap between political rhetoric and economic figures, emphasizing that the presented data contradicted the opposition's previous stance.

"It glorified and endorsed the BJP’s 'Naya Kashmir' discourse. And statistics, which have been berated by the NC over the past decade have become the gospel truth. Suddenly, every government statistic from the past five years is being treated as gospel truth, and the incumbent government seems eager to jump into the frame and take credit for the same statistics that, until the other day, they told us were either fudged or fiction," the PC President said.

The Handwara legislator asserted that he had expected a politically viable and economically vibrant budget rather than a routine statement of outlay and expenditure.

"Even the promised 200 units of electricity are only for AAY beneficiaries and are linked to the Centrally Sponsored Rooftop Scheme, which has approximately a 65% central share with a cap of 3 kW. Too many strings attached," he stated.

Lone also took issue with fuel price hikes, stating, "Petrol and diesel prices are set to increase by ₹1/Lt and ₹2/Lt, respectively, due to a reduction in rebates on petrol and diesel."

He criticized the budget for neglecting key employment sectors, emphasizing that it offered nothing for job creation, daily wagers, contractual employees, or minimum wages.

Additionally, he dismissed the shifting of the police budget as a supposed "achievement," asserting that "the soul of statehood, which we believe was stolen from us, was relegated to yet another statistic."

Moreover, he likened the LG’s address to a political downplaying of aspirations and called the budget "a statistical relegation of aspirations."

In a final jibe, the PC President noted, "The PM, the HM, and the Union Finance Minister were praised more than once," sarcastically concluding, "The saga of love letters continues. This love letter to BJP—Part II."
UNI MJR CS