NEW DELHI, March 18: Inner Manipur Lok Sabha MP, Dr. Thokchom Meinya, denounced the recently presented Union Budget, saying it has cut down unfairly on allocation for the under privileged.
`I would like to respond in a similar PPP model. Sir, in my observation and perception this budget is highlyprejudiced, partial, passive, paradoxical and pathetic,` the MP told the House.
He said the budgetary allocations for the poor, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, women and children have been drastically reduced. Therefore, this budget is highly prejudiced against the poor, SCs, STs, women and children, he further charged.
`This budget has done away with the wealth tax and the corporate tax has been reduced from 30% to 25%. As a matter of fact this budget is very partial towards the corporates, industrialist and the rich,` Meinya said.
He noted that `when the global prices of crude oil and petroleum has come down considerably, the inflation is contained and we have a comfortable Foreign Exchange Reserves. In such a favourable situation the Finance Minister is not serious about fiscal consolidation. So, this budget is absolutely passive,` he concluded.
Meinya also charged that the chasm between the haves and have-nots is growing day by day. `After this budget the rich will become richer and poor will become poorer,` he reiterated.
He said there is a saying in Manipuri to explain this, `making wealthy wealthier and wretched more distressful`.
`Finance Minister is giving more money to the rich and less money to the poor. So, this budget is symobically paradoxical, he further said.
He said `in a welfare state development cannot be measured only on the basis of high-rise buildings, smart cities, high-speed trains, digital India, make in India etc. In fact the yardstick of development should be on the basis of people`™s education, employment, health-care, fooding, housing etc. These things are not visible in this budget. Hence, this budget is dismal and pathetic,` he charged.
He also charged that the Finance Minister is now silent on his last year`™s announcement of `health for all`™ and free drugs and diagnostic service. `This time the Ministry of Health has asked for 50,000 but given only 33,152 crores. When we are encountering dreaded diseases like H1N1, AIDS etc., this is unfortunate,` he said.
Addressing the Deputy Speaker, he said `perhaps the whole country knows that BJP had spent a colossal amount of money in the last Lok Sabha election. Everyone knows where from those money came. Now, they have to pay back those money with interest. There are two things in the world which go on non-stop. One is the `time`™ and other is the `interest`™ on borrowed money. If repayment of money is delayed the `interest`™ will be mounting. So, the BJP led Government has started giving the money back with interest. Now, the wealth tax is gone and corporate tax is reduced. In the next four years they will do more,` he further said.
He said this budget has nothing for the middle class. `No tax rebate for the middle class, only some tax saving bonds for them. Finance Minister himself says, `Middle class will take care of themselves`. If this is the attitude, time will tell us who takes care of whom? This is very important and to be noted,` he reiterated.
He further charged that there is now going to be a huge financial burden for the Northeastern states. This is because scant attention is paid to NE Industrial Policy. `This Budget has completely neglected the Northeast India` he further said.
Meinya sarcastically exclaimed `Thank God! MGNREGA is not killed. But Government is reluctantly funding it,` he said.
`Rs. 33,700 crore for MGNREGA is almost equal to last years Revised Estimate. Keeping in view the volume of backlogs and unpaid wages in all the states this allocation is very meager and impractical. With this reluctant funding MGNREGA will die in the near future. One minute sir, I am coming to the last point. If this is the will of the BJP led NDA Government let us see what happens next. The poor farmers will not pardon you,` he predicted.