Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and the son of former Prime Minister I. K. Gujral, Naresh Gujral, on Thursday described the interim budget announced by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee as deficient and failing to address the hardships faced by the 'Aam Aadmi'.

He also condemned the UPA Government for squandering away the economic gains made by the country.

"The economic gains made by the country have been squandered away by the myopic policies of the UPA Government. Good money collected through strong tax revenues was thrown into schemes that were politically skewed. Money was wasted in increased revenue expenditure in preference to improving infrastructure, food security, primary health and education," he said while presenting his assessment of the interim budget.

He also dwelled on the lack of teachers and the medical staff in the country.

"There are lakhs of primary schools all over the country with no teachers because the States do not have the necessary resources. Primary health care centres and district hospitals do not meet even elementary hygiene standards. Not only are they ill-equipped in terms of hardware, but they also lack trained medical staff, again because States are starved for funds and look towards the Centre for succour," he said.

With the increasing number of unemployed people in the country after the downturn in the economy, he said the government is ignoring the fact that half a million of jobs have been lost in the small unorganized sector because the economy downturn.

"The downturn in the economy has led to widespread unemployment. According to a recent statement made by the Minister for Labour, around half a million people lost their jobs between October and December 2008. However, the minister conveniently ignored to mention that millions of jobs have been lost in the small unorganized sector," he said.

Gujral also raised the issue of hunger and malnutrition in the country and said India is ranked lower than war-ravaged countries like Rwanda and Sudan.

"According to a report by an NGO Hand in Hand, one third of the entire world's ultra poor are Indians, and 40 percent of all malnourished children are Indian. Further, 76 percent of the Indians live below the poverty line," Gujral said.

The Rajya Sabha member also drew attention to the shortage of foodgrains in the country, and questioned why international tenders were being sought for whea imports.
(ANI)