Comrade Raja Ram Singh asked the government, is the Pradhan Mantri Internship Scheme proposed in the Budget an attempt to create an army of Companyveers like the disastrous Agniveer retirement scam? Has the much trumpeted 'Skill India' scheme turned into 'Kill India' for our youth?
He said that the total allocation on the Agriculture sector has been decreased to 3.15% in Budget 2024-25 despite a severe crisis in this sector where farmers are struggling to make agriculture profitable. The Minimum Support Price as per C2+50% formula is completely ignored. He also demanded for a Farmers’ Memorial to be constructed at the Singhu Border, the site of more than a year long historic farmers’ protest.
The Economic Survey accepts, he said, that half of the country's youth are unemployable. Then what purpose has been served by the Skill India scheme? And the declaration of internship for 1 crore youth is going to be a farce because it is the 500 companies which will be provided funds and eventually benefit from this scheme, while youth will remain unemployed in the end just like Agniveer scheme.
The common people are the largest taxpayers amounting to 60% of total taxpayers but there are only a handful of super rich who get all the benefits and concessions.
Bihar has not been given a long awaited special package. When this state was bifurcated and Jharkhand was formed - Bihar’s revenue decreased drastically bringing state’s treasury under huge losses - hence a special status was demanded at that time. That demand still unfulfilled is a betrayal with the people of the state. He also added that Bihar perennially faces floods only because a crucial question of the issue of water across international borders has not yet been resolved. A high dam was proposed to be constructed in Nepal but nothing substantial was done in this regard. The state suffers from severe lack of flood control and mitigation measures as well as depleting irrigation systems; this problem must have been addressed in the current budget.
He demanded an increase in taxes from the rich and an increase in expenditures on welfare schemes, health and education, and implementation of the old pension scheme.
