Budget offers nothing for poor, marginalised: Mayawati

Lucknow: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Wednesday flayed the Union Budget and said that it had nothing for the poor and weaker and marginalised sections of society. In a statement issued here, she said that while people were looking for relief measures post-demonetisation, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley "disappointed" them. "Small relief given in income tax will neither offset the problems of the people nor wash away the blots on the BJP-led NDA government," the statement said. The four-time Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister also castigated the central government for being adamant on pushing through the budget even while the poll process was underway in five major states of the country. She said that the demonetisation of higher currency notes on November 8 has already singed the economy, made people jobless and put honest people through endless travails.