The Opposition on Wednesday criticised the general budget as one lacking in vision and offering no growth prospects, as it again targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying he “followed” Pakistan in deciding on demonetisation and launching a surgical strike “on our own people.”
Congress leader Veerappa Moily initiated the debate in Lok Sabha on the Union Budget 2017-18 in which he picked holes in the government’s economic policy and targeted Mr. Modi over a host of issues, like in the past few days.
Attacking the government over demonetisation, he said it has offered no gain for the common man on whom “the State was unleashed.” While Mr. Modi and other BJP leaders have already begun toning down on the issue in their election speeches, they have not done so in Parliament due to “false pride.”
Reasons like fighting corruption, black money and fake currency cited by Mr. Modi to justify demonetisation were the same given by Pakistan when it took a similar decision in June 2015 and no other country which has done so ever gave such reasons, the former Union Minister said.
“It dawned on the Prime Minister that Pakistan has taken a right step. Let’s follow it. For the first time, we have followed Pakistan. It is unprecedented... It is not worth following Pakistan,” he said.
Criticising the Budget, he said the time was ripe for a forward-looking Budget but it turned out to be a timid one, without any will power or vision to take the country forward.
Mr. Moily said his party supported merger of plan and non-plan funds and Railway Budget with the Union Budget, saying these were good steps forward but the exercise was “messed up.” “We are not fundamentally against it.”
Praising certain aspects of the Economic Survey prepared by Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian, he said there was no synchronisation between it and the Budget and while the survey spoke of certain concerns, the Budget did not address them. Subramanian, he said, was the only economist in the government.
Noting that the Survey presented before the first Budget of the Modi government had said that fundamentals were very strong and the legacy was good, he said the attack on the UPA government over its handling of the economy was political or what many people say ‘jumla.’
Demonetisation hit informal sector hard and caused job losses which were not addressed by the Budget, he said.
All critics of the government were painted as criminals, terrorists and black marketeers and those supporting it were portrayed as patriots, Mr. Moily said.
Mr. Moily said, while Indira Gandhi, by nationalising banks, had brought banking to the doorstep of the people, the Prime Minister is taking away banks from the poor.
“This is committing debauchery with the currency... People who oppose your policies are criminals, black marketeers and anti-nationals, while people who support your policies are called patriot,” he said.
At the time of demonetisation, the government had estimated that about Rs. 5 lakh crore will not return to the banking system, but now not even Rs. 1 lakh crore has stayed out, the Congress leader said.
“Money in circulation cannot be called black money. I don’t know who is advising you. Government is deaf regarding the problems caused due to demonetisation,” Mr. Moily said.
Criticising the government’s contention of moving towards a cashless society, he said except Sweden, there is no other country which has a cashless economy.
Quoting data, Mr. Moily said in India, the share of cash in consumer transaction in India is 98%, in U.S., it is 55%, 44% in UK and 90% in China.
“You have shaken the trust of the people and now you are not lifting the withdrawal curbs because you fear there will be a run on the banks. The less cash economy is a disaster... I hope one day there will be an apology in Parliament for the demonetisation move,” he said.
With regard to the Budget proposal of merging oil companies, Mr. Moily said the government wants to destroy all the profit-making oil companies.
Opposing the Budget, TMC MP Saugata Roy said, “Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has not rocked any boat” and has only treaded on a “conservative path” instead of undertaking reforms.
