Budget 2018: Nitish praises 'best' Budget, congratulates Narendra Modi, Arun Jaitley

Nitish Kumar said the central government had initiated a big move for agriculture, education and heath sectors.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. File

PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday hailed the Union Budget 2018-19 presented in the Lok Sabha by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, saying it is "good for the people, particularly the poor and farmers". He also congratulated Jaitley and Prime Minister Narender Modi for the presentation of what he called the "best Budget". Nitish Kumar said the central government had initiated a big move for agriculture, education and heath sectors. "The government's decision to provide health insurance to 10 crore families is a big move. "This grand initiative will cover 10 crore families, which means almost 50 crore people will get insurance coverage of up to Rs 5 lakh every year," said Nitish Kumar, whose JD-U is part of the National Democratic Alliance led by the BJP. However, Nitish Kumar said nothing over the Central government decision not to provide special packages to backward states such as Bihar. Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav described the Budget as "disappointing". "There is nothing for the people, except eyewash on helping them." He questioned the Centre's silence over how much black money had returned to the banks after the 2016 demonetisation.