Bodies give anti-women, hollow tag to Union budget
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, July 25 2024: National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW) has said that the Union Budget 2024-25 introduced in the Parliament by union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has violated the trust of women.

Informing this in a statement, All Manipur Nupi Marup said that NFIW criticised the Union Budget as it has not allocated adequate budget for women despite the tall claims of the government working towards women"s empowerment.

As per World Economic Forum"s Global Gender Gap Report, India ranks 129th out of 146 countries apart from showing status of women degrading in the country negating claims of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the government is working to uplift status of Indian women.

Rather women in the country are facing various issues in socio-economic and political sectors as there are no initiatives in basic education and healthcare services to improve the condition.

Though NEP 2020 had been implemented, the number of female students in higher education is still low, said the Lup, adding that NFIW has been pitching for special budget allocation for girls" education.

Though MGNREGS beneficiaries have more women than men, women"s representation in the overall workforce is still low.

MGNREGS, which guarantees 200 days of job, has little budget allocation.

Number of women availing treatment in major hospital is low but high in primary health centres where number of doctors are low and have improper facilities.

It shows lack of proper healthcare facilities for women, NFIW observed while stressing the need for enhancing budget allocation in health sector, the statement of Nupi Marup said.

At the same time, crimes against women and children are comparatively high and conviction rate in such cases is low.

Regrettably, there are many such people involved in such crimes holding high positions in politics and government departments, which often deter the victims from seeking justice.

There is little hope of fully implementing the new criminal laws since commitment to uphold the law is not reflected in the budget.

In short, NFIW sees the budget as nothing but a policy to save the Modi government, the Nupi Marup statement said.

Most importantly, the budget shows that the Central government sees Manipur as a prosperous state without needing any special package.

Amid the crisis arid calamities, the state is now facing an acute crisis of LPG, Nupi Marup said, while demanding adequate availability of LPG at low price.

Economic & Resource Development Organisation (ERDO) Manipur also termed the Union Budget as a hollow budget and huge setback for the people of Manipur.

Addressing media persons at Manipur Press Club, here, on Thursday, ERDO secretary general Nahakpam Santa criticised the Union Budget presented by Nirmala Sitharaman and said that though the budget may appear beneficial for the country as a whole, it is effectively useless for Manipur.

He described it as a hollow budget for Manipur, which is considered the gateway of the Act East Policy, especially given the ongoing conflict, market conditions arid production levels in the state.

Noting that there is no allocation for victims of the crisis in Manipur, Santa questioned whether Manipur"s exclusion from the budget was due to the state government"s failure to submit necessary documents for funding or due to poor coordination between Manipur"s MPs and the central government.

He further stated that the union budget clearly indicates the central government"s disregard for Manipur, suggesting that the Centre does not prioritise the northeastern states, particularly Manipur.

Under these circumstances, he argued, it is time for the people of Manipur to unite and focus on developing own economy.

If such conditions persist, the indigenous people of Manipur will face hardships in the near future.

So, it is crucial for the government of Manipur to focus and prioritise on independent economic development, he added.

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