Ranchi: As finance minister Radha Krishana Kishore tabled 2026-27 state budget on Tuesday, political reactions flew on expected lines with the opposition BJP hitting out calling it directionless and visionless.Chief minister and JMM president Hemant Soren said that the budget would have far-reaching effects and that no section of the society has been left out. He said, “Results of the proposals would be seen on the grounds soon.” Congress minister Irfan Ansari said that the budget would bring all round development in the state. JMM general secretary Vinod Kumar Pandey said that the budget is aimed at social inclusion. “Gender budget of Rs 34,211 crore for women empowerment, child budget of Rs 10,793 crore for children’s welfare, Rs 1,000 crore for rural road construction, Rs 730 crore under Mukhyamantri Gram Setu Yojana.…are indication of all round social development push in this budget,” he added.Ally RJD also hailed the budget. State party spokesman Kailash Yadav termed the budget as historic and thanked the chief minister for the decision on building the Baba Saheb Ambedkar University in Chatra district. CPI ML state secretary Manoj Bhakt too welcomed the budget but added that there has been no significant increase in allocation for Mukhyamantri Maiya Samman Yojna which would create difficulties in enrolling new beneficiaries. CPI state executive committee members Ajay Singh said that it was a people-centric budget.Meanwhile, leader of opposition Babulal Marandi accused the govt of misleading the people on release of funds by the Centre. He claimed that the centre has provided 89% of Jharkhand’s share in taxes by Feb 14, adding that the state has not been able to effectively spend the fund. BJP state president and Rajya Sabha member Aditya Sahu claimed that the state govt has mentioned ‘baal budget (allocation for children)’ in the document but there is no mention of thousands of children missing from the state.He said, “The govt has talked about gender budget but there is no provision for preventing rape, murder and other crimes against women.” Sahu questioned that if there is no shortage of fund in the state then why are the disbursement of scholarships, widow pension and old age pension pending. Former deputy CM and Ajsu P chief Sudesh Mahto claimed that the govt was trying to deceive the people by increasing the budgetary amount by around Rs 10,000 crore compared to the current budget. He alleged, “By Jan 31, 2026, the govt had spent only half of the fund allocated in the current budget, which has halted development works.”
