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Opposition MP Aram Manukyan slammed the amended draft State Budget 2017 discussed at the National Assembly on Tuesday. Turning to Finance Minister Vardan Aramyan, who acted as the reporter of the made amendments, Manukyan said: “The program you are presenting is absolutely inadequate to the current day reality. The budget is to be a political document to provide political solutions, yet you are not speaking of the poor economy, the corruption, monopolies and free competition”.

Manukyan also doubted the relevancy of the government’s concept, saying the cabinet has no plan for crisis situations.

In response, Minister Aramyan stated that along with being a political document, the budget serves as a macroeconomic tool to ensure the economic stability aiming to strengthen economic growth.
 
Manukyan rebuffed, drawing parallels between the country’s economy with a long-suffered patient: “You are speaking about the system like a patient, who has been suffering from necrosis, while you continue treating colds. The steps proposed by you are inadequate for a rotten economy. You make no reference to the country with officially recorded 40 percent of shadow economy. There are at least 5 billionaires in Armenian richer than Trump (US President-Elect Donald Trump). How could that happen? I guess that is because of a system disease, not colds. You are treating colds, putting aside the cancer. You will fail to bring the country to life,” the parliamentarian said.