Jamaat-e-Islami Hind Vice President, Engineer Mohammad Salim, while addressing press meet at JIH headquarters on February 6, said, “Overall the budget is disappointing because it has not taken care of the damage done during pandemic and lockdown. After minute observation it can be said to be a budget in favour of the corporates. During pandemic and lockdown, the corporates have gained substantially but the small and petty traders and manufacturers were very badly hit and the budget has not addressed their concerns. Instead of putting pressure on these corporates, the government has tried to generate revenue from the people. It is a matter of concern that the government has paid great attention towards disinvestment. Last year the disinvestment package was 30,000 crore which has been increased to 1,50000 crore and even LIC has not been spared.”
“There has been some increase in our health budget but even after the increase it is only around 2 per cent of the GDP which is not sufficient. Jamaat-e-Islami Hind has always demanded that it should be around 6 per cent of the GDP. Even the budget has not addressed the concern of the educational sectors which was hit hard due to the pandemic,” he added.
On the budget for minorities, he said that 4000 crore has been allocated to minorities. Minorities are around 25 crore which in terms of population are around 21 per cent. The ratio of percentage population of SC and ST is about 16 per cent. If we compare the budget allocation the sub plan of SC, ST is more than 10 per cent as compared to minorities. One can understand from the difference of allocation that shows how the government thinks of minorities and how serious the government is for the welfare of the minorities. The budget of minorities has been reduced to Rs. 4810.77 crores as compared to Rs. 5029 crores last year.
The JIH Vice President, while replying to a question, said that the government should give up its rigid stand on the three farm laws and agree to repeal the three controversial farm laws. He argued that the new laws were in the interest of neither the farmers nor the consumers. Instead, the three farm laws were only for the benefit of the corporates.
Malik Moatasim Khan, JIH secretary, Community Affairs, while speaking on the rallies, said that on the pretext of collecting fund for the construction of Ram Mandir certain groups are vitiating the communal amity by promoting hate and violence. They are targeting the minority community and trying to polarise the atmosphere by taking out rallies in Muslim dominated localities. He also informed that social activists and prominent citizens and social activists have written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking him to rein in the communal forces and ensure that such rallies were not taken out in minority areas. Syed Tanveer Ahmed, JIH secretary, Media Department was also present during the press meet.