Chandigarh, June 21
Mounting sharp attack on the Congress government’s first Budget, the Shiromani Akali Dal’s two main speakers — Capt Kanwaljit Singh, former Finance Minister and Dr Upinderjit
Kaur, a noted economist, — described the Budget as anti-employee, anti-trader, anti-farmer, anti-working class and anti-development in the Punjab Assembly today.
Capt Kanwaljit Singh stated in the House that the SAD would extend full support to employees, farmers and other organisations who had started building up joint agitation against Congress government’s fiscal and other policies.
“My party would stand by employees. It would not allow disinvestment in the blue chip companies at this stage when the share market was down in the dumps and the government would attempt to sell shares of the companies at a throwaway price”, he said in the House.
Refuting the Congress government’s charge that it inherited empty treasury from the previous Government, Capt Kanwaljit Singh, who opened discussion on the Budget, cited from government’s budget speech that a figure of Rs 235.40 crore showing opening balance at the beginning of current year.
The Congress government had ditched not only the people but also betrayed their faith. Instead of
fulfilling the promises, the government was saying that it could do nothing as it had no money. Though there was a mention of the Ghaggar plan, more power projects etc but there was no provision of funds in the Budget.
Doors of employment to youth had been closed by banning new recruitment and abolishing vacant posts. Axe had been wielded on the Punjab Roadways and the PRTC and PSEB employees by announcing privatisation of these organisations. Development component was missing from the Budget as the government had declared it would observe a year of plan holiday, he added.
While the government wanted to hand over 29 departments to panchayats it has not consulted the employees to be affected by the decision. There was no allocation of untied funds to districts. The Budget misleads the House and people of the state.
There would be a burden of Rs 2895 crore on people as this amount would be collected from them by increasing stamp fee, road tax, user charges on drinking water, sewerage and increasing bus fares, hospital charges, school fees, medical education fees, higher education fees, withdrawing free power to farm sector and levying charges on water for irrigation.
By announcing uniformity in floor rates on Sales Tax the Government wanted to collect Rs 250 crore from farmers by raising Sales Tax on diesel from 8 per cent to 12 per cent, on fertilizers from zero to 4 per cent and on pesticides from 2 per cent to 4 per cent.
He listed the SAD-BJP government’s achievements and claimed that growth rate of domestic product remained higher from that of national average in Punjab in two financial years.
Mr Surinder
Singla, fielded to defend the Budget proposals, blamed the previous SAD-BJP government for what went wrong with industry, agriculture, trade, business and on the financial front in the state. Every sector was in a mess.
Defending the Budget, Mr Singla said it was a bold attempt to bring the state out from bankruptcy and secure future of employees and other sections of society. The freezing of DA, LTC etc were temporary measures to save the state from financial collapse.
He said that with strategic disinvestment in the state units, pay packet of employees working in such companies would become bigger. “It was SAD-BJP government which set up the Disinvestment Commission”, he asserted.
Rights of employees would be taken care of in the process of
disinvestment.
The government was trying to create a climate in which multinationals and national firms and NRIs would feel secure to make investment. The Budget would start the process of reforms and also introduce an element of fiscal responsibility as ‘action taken report’ would be tabled in the House and eliminate the chance of favour or disfavour as far as granting of exemption of Sales Tax to private companies was concerned. It was a growth-oriented Budget, he added.
Coming to transport sector, he said that when the Badal Government came to power in 1997, it had raised bus fares by 44 per cent to benefit private bus owners, he added.
Dr Upinderjit
Kaur, an Akali legislator, who was heard with rapt attention especially by the Treasury Benches, said the Budget was the most regressive and would hit all sections of the society. It lacked elements of social justice and equity. There was no effort for capital formation, development, growth in the Budget. Its only objective was limited to fiscal management.
She said those who prepared the Budget seemed to be living in the 19th century as they wanted to tackle the fiscal deficit by using all their might while in 20th century fiscal deficit to a manageable limit was preferred in budgetary provisions all over the world. There was no transparency in the Budget. The government had tried to keep all aspects of direct and indirect taxation concealed from people and the House in Budget proposals, she asserted.
The growth rate would slow down and it add to already critical unemployment situation in the state leading to anarchy and chaos. There was no attempt to improve basic needs like education, health, etc, she added.
