Srinagar, Feb. 11 -- Handwara legislator Sajad Lone, "questioning the absence of the ruling party's manifesto promises in the budget", asked why the ruling party's manifesto promises had not been translated into concrete budgetary allocations. Terming the J&K budget as bureaucratic, Lone, who is also People's Conference chief, on Tuesday said the budget lacked the distinctive political imprint. Lone said that the budget political mark in the budget is missing. "That mark is not visible," Lone said. He suggested this disconnect would become a recurring point of contention from the opposition over the next five years, stating, "So if the mark of the manifesto is there, why is it not in the budget? This is a question that the opposition will ask you repeatedly, for the next five years." Lone pointed to weak execution of previous budgetary assurances, highlighting a significant gap of 13,000 crore between budget estimates and revised estimates. He said that capital investment had decreased substantially, remarking, "In the whole world, people have a problem with money; here, it seems there is a problem with spending. We don't seem to have the capacity to spend money." On the budget's composition--with 70% allocated to revenue expenditure and only 30% to capital expenditure--Lone said, "This means that long-term assets will not be built, and this reflects a weak internal revenue base." He detailed the Union territory's financial dependence, noting that of the total receipts of 1,27,000 crore, only 31,800 came from internal tax and non-tax sources while central assistance amounted to approximately 42,000 crore, centrally sponsored schemes 13,000 crore, and borrowing 14,000 crore. "So this limits our fiscal autonomy. When all the money is coming from outside," Lone said. The legislator reserved his sharpest criticism for what he termed the "great rebate grab" surrounding the six cylinder announcement. He methodically broke down the mathematics, explaining that the manifesto had promised 12 cylinders for economically weaker sections. "The exact words in your manifesto are 12 cylinders for economically weaker sections. So, no, 'thank you' will not last long. I think you will have to change it," he said. Lone said that there are 2 lakh AAY families and 14 lakh BPL, now called priority households. "So since when did the poor BPL become economically strong? I didn't understand this. They are also economically weak," he said. On employment, Lone challenged the claim of 7,500 jobs created last year, estimating that hardly 2,000 went to Kashmir. He defended his past work on the 3% reservation bill, stating, "I am proud of it. I passed the 3% reservation bill in this very hall."...