Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee will present the Union Budget on July 6. With the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) having come back to power securing a decisive mandate in the 15th Lok Sabha elections less than two months ago, the time is ripe for taking some tough reformist measures. But the Union Budget is not just about economy; it is also about politics.
The Union Government on Wednesday raised the prices of petrol and diesel but does the UPA, in its second term, have the will to take decisions that are unpopular with the public but good for the economy?
Face the Budget discussed the politics of Budget with Congress MP and Spokesperson Manish Tewari, senior Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Nilotpal Basu and Biju Janata Dal MP from Orissa Baijayant Jay Panda.
President Pratibha Patil in her address to Parliament did not mention anything about economic reform and even the government after assuming office has not spelt out its reforms agenda the way it has spelt out its social agenda.
Baijayant Jay Panda began the discussion blaming the UPA for not having a reformist agenda and for not putting the money where required.
“In the government’s earlier term there was a slowdown on many fronts. One of the key short comings in our country is infrastructure. Compared to China, we are woefully behind in spending on infrastructure. When Biju Janata Dal was in the government at Centre a very large programme of national highways as well rural roads had started. A coastal highway from West Bengal to Tamil Nadu would change the face that part of the country,” said Panda.
“There is a calling for government expenditure in infrastructure. The government has believed in raising taxes and borrowing but has not spent that money in a wise way. Government should have developed infrastructure that private sectors hasn’t. But on the other hand, it has schemes like NREGA (National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) and two of Orissa districts are on top countrywide, yet the bureaucracy they face from the Centre in getting funds on time makes it difficult to implement the programme,” said the Orissa MP.
–Agencies