Days after the Budget for Jammu and Kashmir was presented in Parliament, the Congress on Friday accused the government of “unprecedented fiscal mismanagement” and questioned Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s differing approach to the Union Territory compared to Andhra Pradesh and Bihar.
Jairam Ramesh, Congress general secretary in-charge of communications, highlighted that on July 23, Sitharaman presented the Budget for Jammu and Kashmir in Parliament. “The present Finance Minister has the dubious distinction of being the only Finance Minister of India who has presented six state budgets, since the Union government has refused to hold Assembly Elections since the dissolution of the J&K Legislative Assembly in November 2018,” Ramesh said in a statement.
Ramesh expressed hope that future budgets for J&K would be presented by an elected Finance Minister in the J&K legislature. He criticized the current situation, where the Union finance minister presents the budget, calling it a “tragedy.”
“The Budget documents reveal some astonishing details,” Ramesh claimed. He pointed out that while Parliament approved a borrowing of Rs 12,000 crore last year, the actual borrowings amounted to Rs 24,000 crore. “Borrowings have risen five-fold in the last two years. This is unprecedented fiscal mismanagement,” he said.
Ramesh further criticized the government’s failure to meet its financial targets. “Last year, the finance minister promised to raise Rs 7,800 crore in Additional Resource Mobilisation (ARM) and managed to raise only Rs 1,000 crore,” he said. He noted that the fiscal deficit, initially pegged at 1.6%, had ballooned to 5.36% in FY24—more than three times the original estimate.
Highlighting the economic impact, Ramesh stated, “Under the Union Government’s tutelage, the share of J&K in national GDP has declined from 0.9% in 2015-16 to 0.8% in 2022-23.”
Posing questions to Sitharaman, Ramesh asked how the state’s increased tax/GDP ratio aligns with its financial struggles. “Are the people of J&K being subject to heavy taxation without any corresponding increase in their welfare?” he inquired. He also questioned the national government’s fiscal prudence, asking if it would take responsibility for the fiscal issues at the state level.
Ramesh raised concerns about unemployment, noting that J&K’s rate in February 2023 was 17%, compared to 6.6% in Andhra Pradesh and 12.3% in Bihar. “Why has the FM chosen to be benevolent to AP and Bihar, but not to J&K?” he asked.
Ramesh also questioned the finance minister’s announcement that the Union Government would cover the entire Rs 12,000 crore police budget for J&K. He pointed out that this expense was previously managed through Security Reimbursement Expenditure (SRE) due to militancy since the early 1990s. He asked if this move indicated an intention for the Union Government to control J&K’s home affairs indefinitely.
Ramesh urged the finance minister to clarify if taking over the police salary liability was a permanent measure or a one-time support.