Sharma said the credit for devolution of more funds to the states should go to the UPA regime as it had set up the 14th Finance Commission. The increased devolution of funds to the states is only a "mirage".
Opposition on Wednesday slammed the Budget as "directionless" and said the government has made false promises as the economy continues to struggle with falling investments and dipping employment generation.
"This budget is full of platitudes. It lacks direction and vision," Congress leader Anand Sharma said initiating the debate on the Budget in Rajya Sabha.
Lashing out at the government for reducing budgetary support for social sector and agriculture, the former Union Minister said the budget is "anti-poor" and "for the rich".
Sharma said the credit for devolution of more funds to the states should go to the UPA regime as it had set up the 14th Finance Commission. The increased devolution of funds to the states is only a "mirage".
He said the economy, rather than making a turnaround, is now struggling even though the NDA government had inherited a "strong economy".
"The ground reality today is that investment is falling, offtake is weak, export is falling, manufacturing is low and jobs are not being created. It is a recovering and struggling economy, not a surging economy," the Congress leader said.
Taking a dig at the government for not fulfilling its promises on bringing back black money stashed abroad, Sharma said there is no need for a separate law as the existing legal framework is "adequate enough" to deal with the menace.
As the Congress leader elaborated on budgetary cuts for various ministries such as Women and Child Development and Education, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley intervened to say the government is giving more funds to the states now.
"Some of the (Central) schemes will go to the states as per the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission. We should keep this in mind," Jaitley said.
Wondering whether the government has any blueprint for proposed smart cities, Sharma said first the priority should be improve civic amenities of the existing towns and cities.
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