Lucknow, Feb 20 (PTI) Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati on Thursday criticized Uttar Pradesh's budget for the financial year 2025-26 and said it lacked emphasis on public welfare such as inflation, poverty, unemployment and the basic needs of the common man.

In a series of posts on 'X', Mayawati said, "If the budget had been more about the wider public interest and public welfare, it would have been better. There is a clear lack of adequate government intention and policy towards eliminating inflation, poverty, unemployment and backwardness. How is true development possible?" The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister criticized the budget presented by Yogi Adityanath government as being more focused on appeasing the well-off middle class rather than addressing the needs of the broader population.

Mayawati said the core responsibility of any government should be to fulfil the objectives of "Sarvajan Hitaya" (welfare of all) and "Sarvajan Sukhaya" (happiness for all) by tackling poverty and improving the living conditions of millions of families in the state.

"The real concern and constitutional responsibility of governments should be to remove poverty from the lives of crores of families, bringing them happiness and peace. It is a matter of concern that this is not happening," she added in her post.

Pointing out that Uttar Pradesh's population is grappling with insufficient infrastructure and inequality, Mayawati said there is lack of basic amenities in the cities, villages and regions of the state.

The BSP chief criticized the state government's approach and said offering "other dreams" is not the solution to these fundamental issues.

The former chief minister also refuted the BJP's claim that Uttar Pradesh was in a bad state before its rule.

"The claim that UP was in a bad state before the BJP is not correct," Mayawati asserted.

"Under my BSP government, there was excellent rule of law at every level in terms of public interest and welfare as well as in crime control and law and order. This is something people are yearning for now, while the Bahujan Samaj is suffering due to the policies of the BJP," she said. PTI CDN AS AS

Public welfare must guide budgeting; current budget reportedly prioritises middle-class appeasement over poverty and employment relief. The budget is criticised for prioritising the better-off middle class while failing to address public welfare concerns-inflation, poverty, unemployment and basic needs-and for lacking adequate policy intent to eliminate backwardness and economic inequality; the commentary stresses that fiscal measures should pursue Sarvajan Hitaya and Sarvajan Sukhaya by targeting poverty reduction, improving infrastructure and basic amenities across urban and rural areas.