Budget to launch CMP

Budget should focus on agriculture, Communists tell Manmohan Singh

Finance Minister P Chidambaram yesterday assured United Progressive Alliance (UPA) partners that his July 8 Budget would be the starting point for the implementation of the economic roadmap laid down in the government's common minimum programme (CMP).

"The finance minister said the Budget would reflect the CMP," Communist Party of India General Secretary AB Bardhan told the media after a three-hour dinner meeting with Chidambaram.

According to All India Congress Committee General Secretary Ambika Soni, the finance minister, who took suggestions from the allies in the Congress-led government, said the Budget would seek to achieve the dual objective of growth and fiscal discipline.

Though the meeting was convened to take suggestions on the Budget, a large section of the members, including Congress representatives, demanded a rollback of the cooking gas price, which was increased by Rs 20 earlier this week.

"We are glad that the government has not touched kerosene prices, but we want that the price of LPG be reduced," Bardhan said.

He also said the Left parties have demanded that the government should leave the small savings interest rates unchanged.

The allies confined their suggestions within the parameters of the CMP, but emphasised on agriculture, employment and irrigation. They also demanded a focussed approach to education and supported the proposal to impose a cess on taxes to fund primary education.

They also demanded that fertiliser subsidies be increased and medicines made available at affordable prices.

In addition, there were demands to revive sick fertiliser and pharmaceutical units. New fertiliser plants were also proposed to be set up in states like Bihar, Orissa, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

A special package for Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir and the Northeast was demanded. The UPA partners want the Centre to set aside 10 per cent of the budgetary allocation for the Northeast. They also demanded a higher budgetary allocation for dalits, tribals and minorities.

Earlier yesterday, at a pre-Budget meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Left parties asked the government to increase the standard deduction limit to Rs 1 lakh and sought higher taxes on the rich.

They told the Prime Minister that the biggest problem in India currently was unemployment and the Budget should focus on agriculture, especially strengthening agricultural credit, technology in agriculture, food processing and promotion of agro-based industries.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram too attended the meeting.