The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : It is unimaginative budget: Jayalalithaa

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Tuesday, Jul 07, 2009
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Tamil Nadu

It is unimaginative budget: Jayalalithaa

Special Correspondent

“It sets no clear road map for better India”

CHENNAI: Describing the Union Budget as “partially populist and unimaginative,” AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa on Monday said “it sets no clear road map for a better India.”

In a statement here, she said, “It is nothing but a clerical exercise reflecting the continuity of a visionless government.”

Ms. Jayalalithaa said as the economy had been going through tough times, what the country needed was a dynamic Union Finance Minister capable of out-of-the-box thinking and an effective implementable action plan. “But, Pranab Mukherjee, who unveiled the budget proposals for 2009-2010, emerged as weak, visionless and tentative.”

She said it was gratifying that Mr. Mukherjee had drawn inspiration from the AIADMK’s 2009 election manifesto and scrapped the Fringe Benefit Tax, increased outlay for police modernisation, border fencing and allocations for setting up of more IITs and Central universities.

Though she welcomed the decision to provide below poverty line families with 25 kg of rice or wheat every month at Rs.3 a kg, she felt it was a populist exercise for which there appeared to be no clear allocation of funds.

She said the marginal increase in exemption limits extended across the board made very little sense in the context of spiralling prices of essential commodities and bleak employment scenario.

“Abolish concessions”

PMK leader S. Ramadoss said while there were no concrete proposals to generate employment and contain inflation, introduction of the Goods and Services Tax would further escalate the prices of essential commodities.

Stressing the need for abolishing tax concessions to industrial houses for overcoming the financial deficit, Dr. Ramadoss said tax exemption to donations from industrial houses to political parties would further strengthen the bond between politicians and industrialists.

MDMK general secretary Vaiko said the budget “lacked vision.”

Though it aimed to achieve 9 per cent growth, there was hardly any concrete scheme to accomplish the task. “There is no measure to control price rise though inflation touched an all-time low of 0.44 per cent,” he said and pointed out that allocation of Rs. 1 lakh crore for infrastructure was inadequate.

“Power generation schemes also require more allocation,” he added.

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