Reshmi AR

Piyush Goyal stole the thunder in his cameo appearance as stand-in finance minister substituting for Arun Jaitley while presenting the 2019 budget on behalf of the NDA government. For four long years, Arun Jaitley elicited nothing but sighs of disappointment.

Then Piyush Goyal comes along holding the famous budget briefcase and with one stroke he won the hearts of millions of Indians cutting across various segments in election year. Farmers for example, are likely to get Rs 6000 into their accounts and the middle class has been given a tax relief of Rs 5 lakhs. In other words, those whose annual income is Rs 5 lakhs will ot be required to pay any income tax. These decisions will prove to be gamechangers in the coming months, as we approach Lok Sabha elections. In cricketing terms, Piyush Goyal scored sixes in the final over of the match. In all likelihood, this effort of his for the Modi government could take the NDA over the line in the upcoming Parliamentary elections.

Meanwhile, Arun Jaitley who's recovering from his illness tweeted thus...

The Interim Budget presented by Shri Piyush Goyal today marks a high point in the policy directions that the Government headed by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given to this nation. @narendramodi @PiyushGoyal
— Arun Jaitley (@arunjaitley) February 1, 2019

My compliments to Shri Piyush Goyal for delivering an excellent Budget. The Budget furthers the agenda of the Government headed by Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji to comprehensively address the challenges of the economy. @PiyushGoyal
— Arun Jaitley (@arunjaitley) February 1, 2019