Budget 2016: 'Suit-Boot ki Sarkar' turns 'Gareebon ki Sarkar'; govt chants 'Jai Kisan'

The Narendra Modi government was accused of being confined to top industrial houses and was also branded as "suit-boot ki sarkar" by Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi. 

"Why is Prime Minister Narendra Modi seen with industrialists and the well-heeled all the time? He has no time for the poor and the country's farmers," he had said.

The BJP paid a political price for ‘ignoring the concerns of the poor and the farmer’ when it lost Delhi and Bihar assembly elections. Because a big chunk of the voters belonged to rural areas.

To counter this tag, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the Modi government’s third budget, which is clearly focussed towards farmers and poor.

But why did the government ignored the farmers and the rural India for two years? Why a sudden shift in focus? Many would raise such questions and may even suggest that it may all be done keeping in mind the elections.

The two sections weren’t a major part of the government’s plan for the economic revival of the country. Instead, it involved big investments, multi-dollar projects and making India a destination that attracts foreign money, while the farmers suffered.

With a kind of budget presented, it looks like the government has now understood that without a happy and moralised rural populace, its politics and economy agenda will not be viable. The Opposition had managed to create the government’s image as ‘anti-farmer’. And hence, the government was desperate to break free from this image.

The government now seems to be concerned about the upcoming assembly polls in some states as it has already suffered big political losses.

Even the Prime Minister has been raising farmers’ issues over the last few months. Below are the highlights of the Budget, which seems to be aimed at wooing the rural India, presented by Finance Minister:

• Rs 35, 984 crore for welfare of farmers
• Rs 20,000 crore for irrigation
• Rs 5,500 crore for Prime Minister's Fasal Bima Yojana
• Allocation for Krishi Sinchai Yojana
• Soil health cards for 14,000 farms this year

Well, it is yet to be seen how the Government’s plans will be executed on ground level. Only time will tell!