(Pervez Bari) The Social Democratic Party of India, (SDPI), has deplored the Union Budget 2012-13 presented by the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in the Parliament on Friday.
Mr. E. Aboobacker and Mr. A. Sayeed, SDPI’s national president and general secretary respectively, in a joint statement have termed the Union Budget as anti-people, disappointing and inflationary. It is disappointing and inflationary as the excise duty and service tax were raised to 12 per cent from the present 10 per cent. With a marginal hike in the tax exemption slabs” coupled with hiked taxes across most services, the budget is nothing new, they added.
Mr. Aboobacker in the statement said: “The decrease in the GDP from 8.9 per cent to 7.6 per cent simply expresses the crisis in the economy which is a direct result of the Central Government’s anti-people policies. There is no provision for strengthening of Public distribution process and lowering inflation. The limit of tax payment should be at least Rs. 5 to Rs. 6 lakh instead of the proposed limit of Rs. 2 lakh”.
He said that several new items have been brought under the ambit of Service Tax in the Union Budget. Some of these items are those on which only the State Governments have the right to tax. He said this step of the Union Government is not only unconstitutional, but is also against federal spirit. It may also adversely affect Centre-State relations, he added.
He said inflation will rise in every sector due to 20 per cent hike in excise duty. This step will make the life of the common man, who is already bearing the brunt of dearness, more miserable.
Mr. Sayeed said that a very significant negative feature of the budget is the bid to undo the ruling of the Supreme Court in what has come to be known as the Vodafone case. Regardless of the fortunes of Vodafone, the retrospective amendment in the finance bill smacks of pettiness. Indeed, it militates against the rule of law. Vodafone can defend itself and seek justice from the Supreme Court, but in principle the move to amend the law retrospectively would undermine the confidence of foreign investors in this country’s business environment, he added.
However, he welcomed the Plan Outlay for the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs for the year 2012-13 which has been pegged at Rs. 3135 crore, marking an increase of Rs.385 crore over the previous year’s outlay. (pervezbari@eth.net)