Mumbai, Feb 3 : Shiv Sena (UBT) in an editorial in its mouthpiece 'Saamna' has taken a swipe at Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman about no tax on income up to Rs 12 lakh annually.

The 'Saamna' editorial states, 'It is a complete lie that the budget is for the middle class.'

It has cautioned the middle class to be careful as it will start feeling the pinch as inflation and unemployment will not reduce despite the budget proposals.

'It is being said that by making income up to Rs 12 lakh tax-free, people will have more money in their hands and their purchasing power will increase, but there is not much truth in it.

'This budget will not reduce inflation and unemployment. So what is the use of this barren budget? This budget is nothing extraordinary. This is a political budget.

'There are Assembly elections in Delhi. Modi-Shah have already distributed freebies for them. Since elections are also on the horizon in Bihar, money and schemes have rained down on Bihar. Therefore, as usual, this budget is election-oriented. It is not for the country,' says the editorial.

'Basically, how many people pay income tax in the country? About three-and-a-half crore people. Out of these, two crore people have an income of less than Rs 7 lakh. That means they have already received exemption. Out of one-and-a-half crore, at most 80-85 lakh will be salaried or employed. Out of these, 50 lakh people have salaries of around Rs 12 lakh. So how many are left? At most 60 lakh. That means the new tax system will benefit only about 50 lakh people, but the drums are being played in such a way that 45 crore people will benefit,' it taunts.

'The Modi government had earlier brought a women-centric budget, but the majority of women in the country are still standing in queues for free ration and if 'beloved sisters' are being made happy by offering them Rs 1,000-1,500 per month in states like Goa, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh, what can be termed development of women?

'Modi government had presented a farmer-oriented budget, but farmers have been going on hunger strike and agitation to get the minimum support price for their produce and even today farmers are on hunger strike in Punjab and Haryana.

'Modi government brought an employment-centric budget and PM had promised to provide two crore jobs a year. In reality, there is a job shortage in BJP ruled states.

'Competitive exam papers are being sold in the market. The unemployed have taken to the streets to protest in various states and police are lathi-charging the unemployed,' it said.

'The Centre has now presented a meandering budget that provides relief to the middle class. Therefore, the middle class should be careful. These people are skilled at cutting throats with a knife by putting honey on it,' it reiterates.

'Due to inflation and unemployment, people do not have money to spend. So how will purchasing power increase? It seems that special provisions have been made for Bihar in this budget, but Bihar leaders do not accept this claim.

'Even today, most people from Bihar go to other states for jobs. This is a result of the serious employment problem in Bihar. In terms of development and money, other states are not getting the same treatment that Gujarat is currently getting.

'Speaking about Bihar, since supporting PM Modi, Bihar received a financial package of Rs 60,000 crore in a year, but not even Rs 60 crore of this was spent on development, so what happened to that Rs 60,000 crore? Where did this money go?

'Ever since President Trump came to power again in the US, he has been trying to create an economic crisis in India. The Trump administration is adamant on sending back 1.7 million Indians from the US, which is threatening to create a bubble in the Indian economy,' the editorial stated.

/IANS