LAHORE: Opposition Leader in Punjab Assembly Malik Ahmad Khan Bhachar says the provincial budget has completely ignored the welfare of people and asserts the opposition will bring a shadow budget to prove its point.

“Is there any policy to provide relief to masses from giving free 300 power units to the poor to lowering the prices of daily-use items,” he asked while speaking to media persons after the budget session at Punjab Assembly on Thursday.

Mr Bhachar, who led the continuous protest inside the assembly, rejected the Punjab as well as federal budget stating that a ‘fake Form-47 government’ had no sympathy with the citizens of this country. He said this was a “Babu-made budget” (bureaucrats’ budget) that offered no relief for masses but indicates massive spending on luxuries for government functionaries. “There is no relief for masses in the 2024-25 budget presented in the House,” he said.

On the other hand, he said, the government was allowing export of sugar to benefit the sugar mafia. He said middlemen also earned maximum dividends in wheat purchase and added that the province would face a wheat crisis in November-December.

Mr Bhachar said the IG Police was pouncing on PTI-backed MPAs and added that the police had reached the houses of PTI MPAs in Gujranwala. He said police also registered a fake case against party-back MPA in Muzaffargarh.

“We are living in civil martial law and people cannot expect any relief from the incumbent federal and Punjab governments,” he said.

He said the PTI would also hold a protest against the budget and in solidarity with the superior courts judges.

PTI leader Moonis Elahi said the 2024-25 Punjab budget represents taxes, taxes, inflation, inflation and inflation. In a tweet, he stated that this budget could be IMF-friendly but not people-friendly. “The PTI rejects the Form-47 budget,” he added.

PTI Punjab information secretary Shaukat Basra said the federal and Punjab budgets were mere jugglery of figures and anti-people and anti-farmers.

He said the federal government had levied taxes on everything while preparing the budget on the dictation of the IMF. He said the PTI rejected the federal budget because it favoured haves and deprived have-nots even their basic needs.

Published in Dawn, June 14th, 2024