After slogan shouting, slip of tongue lightens the mood

The Lok Sabha erupted into chants of ‘Modi, Modi’ and counter-slogans of ‘Jodo Jodo, Bharat Jodo’ as FM Sitharaman finished presenting on Wednesday what was likely the government’s last full Budget before the general election scheduled next year.

The Budget announcements, ranging from the three-fold increase in overall outlay for capital investment to the changes in personal tax, were met with tablethumping appreciation from the treasury benches and the occasional sparring with the opposition, which accused the government of not doing enough to rein in spiralling prices of fuel.

But first was a surprise disruption that came minutes after Sitharaman began delivering her speech. Buoyed by the successful completion of the party’s recent cross-country march from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, a few Congress MPs raised slogans of “Jodo Jodo, Bharat Jodo” when party MP Rahul Gandhi arrived in LS. The proceedings then continued, with a surprised Sitharaman pressing ahead with an account of the government’s achievements since 2014, and its vision and priorities for the ongoing ‘Amrit Kaal’. The finance minister’s budgetary proposal to allocate Rs 5,300 crore worth ofcentral assistance to the Upper Bhadra project in drought-prone central Karnataka provided fodder to the opposition, prompting it to charge the government of pushing its political agenda ahead of the Karnataka polls due later this year.

Her proposal to enhance regional connectivity by developing 50 new airports, heliports and aerodromes also led to slogans of “Adani, Adani” from the opposition benches, with some MPs repeating their “suit-boot” charge and alleging the move would benefit the conglomerate that has been buffeted by controversy recently.

The proceesings also witnessed some lighter moments, a relative rarity in the House in recent years. A slipof tongue from Sitharaman, where she said the government proposed to replace old “political” vehicles instead of “polluting” vehicles caused much mirth in the Lower House. The FM laughed, acknowledged the error and went on to rectify her statement.

A reference to Mishti, the Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats and Tangible Incomes, a programme to plant mangroves in coastal areas and on salt pan lands, put a smile on the faces of Bengal MPs, who took digs at the government’s love for acronyms and prompted others to refer to the word play as “gimmicky”.