The Rajya Sabha today took up the general discussion on the Union Budget 2017-18. Initiating the discussion, former Finance Minister and senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram said the Government has committed a terrible mistake to the economy by demonetising high value currency. <br/><br/>He said as a result, 75 per cent of small and medium industries have been closed across the country. He alleged that the government has set a growth target which is at variance with the numbers projected by Central Statistical Organisation, CSO. <br/><br/>He found fault with the Government for not able to maintain pace of growth rate. Referring to the Budget Proposals, Mr Chidambaram said it does not have strategy to create jobs and enabling environment for investments. <br/><br/>He also criticised the Government for not mentioning about the Minimum Support Price for farm produce. <br/><br/>Defending the budget, Prabhat Jha of BJP said the Budget has taken care of the interests of the poor, farmers and the backward classes and urged the Opposition not to play politics in the garb of demonetisation. <br/><br/>He said the Government has given a thrust to rural infrastructure by increasing its allocation in the Budget. He said, the Budget has also made provision for farm loans of up to 10 lakh crore rupees.<br/><br/>Earlier, A. Navneethakrishnan of the AIADMK urged the Government to direct the governor of Tamil Nadu to conduct immediate swearing-in of the new Chief Minister to end political uncertainty in the state. <br/><br/>Sukhendu Shekhar Roy (TMC) criticised the government for presenting rosy picture of economy saying the exports have lost momentum and the budget document was nothing but jugglery of words. <br/><br/>The debate on Budget remained inconclusive and will taken up when the House reassembles on March 9 after the recess.<br/><br/>In the morning, the House could not function due to uproar by opposition members on different issues and witnessed two adjournments. Agitating Congress members demanded the Prime Minister's apology for his remarks against Dr Manmohan Singh during the reply to the motion of thanks.