Mumbai, July 5 (UNI) Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Friday dismissed allegations that details of the state Budget were leaked in the media a day before presentation in the Legislative Assembly last week.
Replying to questions of Opposition leaders Vijay Wadettiwar and Jayant Patil regarding the alleged leak of Budget details, Pawar said some news items speculated on what to expect from the Budget and this did not amount to leakage of details.
Asserting that full confidentiality was maintained in Budget presentation, Pawar said Jayant Patil has held the responsibility of Finance Ministry nine times and must be aware that in the run-up to Budget presentation expectations of citizens are often discussed in news reports.
Restricting newspapers from publishing reports about expectations from Budget would amount to injustice, the Finance Minister said.
The Nationalist Congress Party-Sharad Pawar supremo while interacting with the media recently had criticized the Budget.
Sharad Pawar alleged that details of the Budget were published in newspapers a day before its presentation in the House.
