Just as Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman used the words ‘farmers’ and ‘welfare’ in the same sentence, the Parliament erupted in slogans, instantly dissing the minister. The Opposition began to raise slogans and shouted over the minister when she began to speak about farmer welfare in her budget speech. Farmers across the country have been holding massive protests over the last three months.
The Opposition also yelled out slogans and banged their desks when Sitharaman was starting her speech at 11. When she began the section on farmer budget, the Opposition raised their voices again. Some yelled out the name ‘Adani’ too. The Minister managed to speak over the slogans but the sloganeering did not go unnoticed by viewers.
Farmers across the country have been protesting since the ‘Farm Bills’ were proposed in August. These three ordinances were introduced as bills and passed by the Lok Sabha in September 2020. On September 22, the three bills were passed by the Rajya Sabha, where the government is in a minority, via a voice vote – ignoring the requests of the opposition for a full vote.The President of India gave his assent by signing the bills on 28 September, thus converting them into acts. On and off, farmers held various protests. But since November, the protests have grown large with many members of the general public also joining in, including students, activists and even political parties in the Opposition. On Republic Day, the farmers carried on protests and violence broke out after police began to lathicharge the protestors who had been peaceful thus far.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her third budget this year at 11 pm. Amid the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, the Finance Minister presented a paperless budget. This is the first time in India's history that a paperless Union Budget was presented. As the budget papers will not be printed, the Finance Minister had also launched an official mobile app to provide complete access to all budget documents. The mobile app can be downloaded from the Union Budget Web Portal www.indiabudget.gov.in.
The Finance Minister had assured a budget “like never before”. The budget 2021 has a greater significance as it comes amid the COVID-19 pandemic which has caused economic disruption. FM Nirmala Sitharaman replaced the Swadeshi 'bahi khata' and switched to a tablet. She was seen carrying a tablet kept inside a red coloured cover with a golden coloured national emblem embossed on it. The Economic Survey 2020, presented by FM Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday pegged the GDP growth at 11 per cent in FY22.
