DW BUREAU / chandigarh Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal on Monday criticised the Union Budget, saying it was silent on agricultural unrest, unemployment and problems of the middle class. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday presented the Budget for 2021-22. In a series of tweets, Badal claimed that the "entire north India" was ignored in the Budget. "The Budget is silent on agricultural unrest. It buries its head in the sand, and rather than help solve the crisis that the NDA created. What about MSP," Badal asked in a tweet. Farmers from Punjab and Haryana have been camping at the Delhi borders for several weeks, demanding the repeal of the new farm laws and a legal guarantee on the minimum support price for crops. The Punjab minister claimed that instead of doubling income from agriculture, it will reduce the earnings by half. Badal further said that the budget was "silent" on unemployment. "Unemployment figures are skyrocketing due to NDA's pandemic mismanagement," alleged Badal adding, "But the Budget is silent on this issue, leave alone to tide over the crisis." He further claimed that the Budget was "silent on the travails of the middle class." "Middle classes get nothing except increased costs of petrol and diesel. Hopes of the middle classes of relief after suffering from a once-in-a-century pandemic have been shattered," he said in another tweet. "Entire north India has been ignored. Why? Because it is not going to the polls! States that are going to polls are given sops. Just like the maximum Padma awardees came from five states going to polls," Badal claimed. The Punjab FM said the Budget was "silent" on revenue generation. "How will the NDA raise revenue? Should the people expect another surreptitious and clandestine attempt to raise revenue on the sly," he asked. Badal further alleged, "The Budget seeks to sell India's precious assets. One thing is clear. The Union Government wants to sell more and more of government assets." Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said the government is ready for talks with the protesting farmers on the three farm laws as discussion is the only way forward. Thousands of farmers are protesting on key entry points to the national capital for over two months, demanding the repeal of the three farm laws and legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) on crops. "We can understand why farmers are sitting at the border. If any farmer has any question, Agriculture Minister (Narendra Singh Tomar) has never denied opportunities for talk," Sitharaman said in reply to a query during her post Budget briefing. The minister said Tomar has had several rounds of discussions with farmers and also asked to them to come up with clause by clause suggestion on all the three legislations. "Therefore, I think, discussion is the only solution. The government is open for discussion." (editor@dailyworld.in)