THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - The union budget for 2009-10 presented in the Lok Sabha Monday offered nothing to the non-resident Keralites (NRKs), who were hit hard by the slowdown in the Middle East and other countries, Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac said.

“Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi and Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor are from Kerala. I certainly expected some sops for the NRKs, especially for those who lost jobs and returned home,” said Isaac.

Kerala has close to two million people working abroad, of which 90 percent work in the Middle East.

Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan last month had said the NRKs were sending home around Rs.65,000 crore every year, a major source of foreign exchange earning for the country.

The central government can allocate a share of that amount to the diaspora, the chief minister said.

The state government last month distributed financial assistance to those who returned from abroad from a newly set-up fund called Norka-Roots Chairman Fund.

Isaac added that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s claim that the economy would be back on the 9-percent growth path was “far fetched”.

“If you look at the predictions made by major funding agencies, India will grow between 4 to 7 percent only,” said Isaac.

However, Leader of the Opposition Oommen Chandy expressed happiness over the budget, saying it underscores the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government’s commitment to its election manifesto.

“The social responsibility aspect has been taken care by the proposal to supply 25 kg of rice or wheat at Rs.3 per kg,” the Congress leader said.

There were widespread criticisms when the Economic Survey was tabled that the government was looking to sell out public sector firms, Chandy said.

“Is it there in the budget? Likewise, look at the importance given to the agriculture sector. Overall, it’s a forward-looking budget.”

The budget has set aside Rs.25 crore for setting up an off-campus centre of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) at Malappuram.

“The Left in Kerala was all along saying that there is no budgetary allocation for this. Now I would like to ask them where’s the land for the centre? The state government has to provide land,” said Minister of State for Railways E. Ahamed, who represents the Malappuram constituency.

–Indo Asian News Service