Dr. Ajoy Kumar the MP from Jamshedpur has been asking some important question in Parliament. Below I am pasting the ones he asked on 13 March this year. Hindi version of it is below the English version. (I just noticed that the FB is not supporting the Hindi font. Could some expert help in changing the font and reposting it?) 13.03.2013 Uncorrected / Not for Publication 451 1812 hours SHRI P. KARUNAKARAN (KASARGOD): Th ank you, Sir, for giving me this opportunity. I would like to participate in the discussion on the Budget presented before us by the hon. Finance Minister, Shri P. Chidambaram. In the Budget presented by him, there is a deficit of 5.3 per cent which comes to about Rs.5,20,925 crore. I do not say that the Budget is bad just because it is deficit or the Budget is good just because there is surplus. At the same time, the Budget should have some vision. The Budget is not merely a balance of account, telling the income and expenditure. It should have some vision, projection and perspective approach besides the Annual Plan. I am sorry to say that such wisdom of this perspective approach is really absent in this Budget, maybe, due to the compulsion from the external factors. Sir, when we assess the Budget, we have to see where the expenditure has been incurred; where do we mobilize the resources; for what purpose we are spending; and what should be the general projection of the Budget. When we speak about the Budget, we should analyze the present situation. I think, all the Finance Ministers and all the experts really depend upon the present situation, that is, the Economic Survey. The Economic Survey is prepared by the Government itself and not by the private agency. But, our Finance Minister and some experts say that this Economic Survey is not fully correct. They think that there should be a jump in the last quarter. Really, that is the anticipation or expectation or ambition of the Government. At the same time, out of the 12 months, taking into account the nine months experience, which is the reality and other factors and issues, the officers, who prepared the Economic Survey, came to the conclusion that the year is not a satisfactory year. No t only that, there is a negative growth in almost all the sectors. When we go through the Economic Survey, the GDP rate in 2005-06 was 9.5 per cent, now it is five per cent. Th e agricultural growth was 5.1 per cent and now it is 1.8 per cent. 13.03.2013 Uncorrected / Not for Publication 452 (q4/1815/kvj-jr) As regards agriculture, in 2011-12 it was 6.2, now it is 1.8; mining was 4.9, now it is 0.6; electricity 6.5, now it is on ly 4.9; trade 7.7, now it is 5.2; financing and social service 11.7, now 6.8; consum ption expenditure 8.1, now it is 4.1; private consumption expenditure 8.1, now it is only 4.0; government consumption expenditure also declined. When we see expor ts, it was earlier 15.3, now it is 4.5. Import 21.5, now it is 5.7. Capital format ion, which is most important in public sector was 8.5, now it is 7.9; private formation 26.5, now 24.9. I do not go into details. How can the Finance Minister say that on the basis of these figures we can have a rosy picture or a rosy future as far as many allocations or projects are concerned? These are not just figures. These figures have some reality. As the Finance Minister said, we can make up for the gap in the last quarter. I think it is just like an expert football coach saying when his team is playing having conceded four goals in the first 70 minutes out of the total 90 minutes that within the next 20 minutes we will return the four goals and come first. THE MINISTER OF OVERSEAS INDIAN AFFAIRS (SHRI VAYALAR RAVI): And win the match! SHRI P. KARUNAKARAN (KASARGOD): That is true. We can congratulate the Finance Minister as there should be optimism. But how is it possible? There should be some basis because the first 70 minutes of play shows that the team is poor. So, in the next 20 minutes it will not be possible to come to the front. That is true as far as the statement made by the Finance Minister is concerned. With regard to these figures what we see is that the prices of food items, especially vegetables and other essential goods have gone up. The Government could not take any action in this regard. The public distribution system is the effective instrument to control price rise . Kerala and Tamil Nadu have the best method. We have been saying that there should be universalisation of public distribution system. But you will agree with me that your Government is not ready Comment [K1]: sh. p. karunakaran cd. 13.03.2013 Uncorrected / Not for Publication 453 for this. These figures show in reality that the day to day life of the people becomes more and more difficult. When we see the mobilization of revenue and the projection of the Government, we know from where the Government gets money and what is the projection of the Government in this regard. I think the Government is going to face very serious adverse effects out of this situation. The Government has given some popular programmes because next year is going to be the election year. So, the Finance Minister has been compelled to take some of the issues like that of women, youth and children. I do not disagree with them. At the same time, the measures taken by the Government show the character of this Budget. The deficit that has been shown by the Government is 5.3 per cent, that is, Rs.5,20,920 crore. At the same time, the tax foregone is Rs.5,73,630 crore. It means that it is nearly Rs.53,000 crore more than the deficit figure. What do you mean by tax foregone? Tax foregone is the exemption or incentive that the Government has given to the corporate sector. I do not say that there are no small scale units at all. There maybe. But most of the tax exemptions or incentives have gone to the corporate. If the Government has taken a decision to collect the tax that we have already taken in the last Budget and implement the schemes, you would have been able to present a surplus budget. But, now it is a deficit budget because even the money that the Government has to get, it says that it does not want to get that money. (r4/1820/san-har) At the same time, as my colleague had said, he has decided to earn Rs. 50,000 crore from the public sector by way of disinvestment and there is reduction of Rs. 30,000 crore on account of petrol eum subsidy. Public undertakings are really the assets of the Government. Ever y year this Government is selling their shares through disinvestment. Why are they doing it? What is their right to sell or loot these public assets? This time you are expecting Rs. 50,000 crore. At the same time, Rs. 30,000 crore is the amount of reduction that you have done in the Comment [K2]: cd. by r4 Comment [S3]: P Karunakaran contd. 13.03.2013 Uncorrected / Not for Publication 454 petroleum subsidy. That will really have an adverse affect on the common people. As far as reduction in the petroleum subsid y is concerned, that would affect the purchasing power of the people. As you know, the prices of petrol and diesel and other things will go up. The price rise will be due to decision taken by the Government. They have to their credit that this Government has raised the price of the petrol 20 th time and also raised the prices of diesel, kerosene, LPG and such other things. On the other hand, there is reduction as far as the subsidy is concerned. When Shri Pranab Mukherjee was the Finance Minister – he is now the President – he had said that the Government was giving exemption for implementation of GAAR only for one year. What does our present Finance Minister say? I thought that he was going to do something because he had made a very beautiful explanation with regard to GAAR and said that he was going to make the amendment and a number of discussions were going on. Then, he said that the Government would implement it only in 2016. It means that again the Government is not going to implement GAAR for two or three years. The Exchequer is losing the money it would have got. The Government says that there is Rs. 10,000 crore allocated for the implementation of the food security. It is also not correct because the Government had already earmarked Rs. 5,000 crore last year. So, it really means only Rs. 5,000 crore and not Rs. 10,000 crore. Then, the total reduction in subsidy comes to Rs. 26,571 crore. I do admit that the MGNREG Scheme is a good scheme and there is allocation also made for its implementation. At the same time, can the Government say that there is any enhancement in the allocation? It is stagnant. There is no new allocation at all with re gard to MGNREG Scheme. So, you have to address this issue and also increase employment opportunities as far as MGNREG Scheme is concerned. 13.03.2013 Uncorrected / Not for Publication 455 With regard to social sector, we can also examine that health and education are the most important social sectors. The budget allocation for health is less than the allocation made last year in relation to the GDP. Hon. Minister may please analyse that. The budget allocation for education has also declined as proportion of GDP in comparison to that of the last year. Now, our Finance Minister has made a new technique that he speaks about the revised estimates and not the actual estimates. That is not the only case. Now- a-days, the conventions of presentation of Budget have also changed. Earlier, every tax used to be discussed in the Parliament, but now-a-days, the Railway Minister and the Finance Minister come, having taken all the decisions before the convening of Parliament. We know the issue of hike of railway fares and prices of petrol and diesel. So, they have done it to escape from the criticism to be made by the Members that they have levied the tax. That is the new technique that the Government has taken to, this time also. In the case of the SC/ST population, the Government claims much, but can they say that they are doing justice to the SC/ST population? In the Tribal Sub- Plan, the allocation is roughly short of Rs. 20,900 crore when compared to the mandate in the Constitution. There is a constitutional mandate as far as the SC/ST issue is concerned. It is true that the Special Component Plan for the SC/ST has declined. So, the Budget does not adequately respond to the urgent needs of the people. The Government cannot say that th ey are doing sufficient. Of course, we can say that the allocation is in crores an d crores of rupees, but at the same time, compared to the last year or the needs of the people, it is not at all sufficient. He said that the Finance Minister is silent with regard to black-money. (s4/1825/sh-har) I would like to say that black money has become a more important issue now-a-days. In the Fourteenth Lok Sabha also, we had discussed about what the total amount of black money was. The Government says that they have no mechanism, but how can they say that? While England, America, France and Italy Comment [S4]: Contd by S4 Comment [S5]: Shri P. Karunakaran - Cd 13.03.2013 Uncorrected / Not for Publication 456 could all get the details of the accounts, we are not getting the details. How much amount of black money exists? Are we able to lay our hands on that black money? He is completely silent on the issue of corruption. Sir, you yourself have taken up the issue of 2G spectrum in this House. We have discussed the issues relating to the Commonwealth Games, Adarsh Flats, black money, and the last one that we discussed was the issue of De fence scam. The C&AG has given his report on the Agricultural Debt Waive Scheme involving crores and crores of rupees. I would like to ask the Government whether it has the political will to touch any of these persons. Do they have any political will to tap this black money? They do not have it. If you take these examples right from 2G spectrum case to Agricultural Debt Waiver Scheme, crores and crores of rupees have been lost. The required resources are available in our country an d there is no doubt about it. But there should be a political will and that political will is absent in this Government. That is why they say that there are no resources. Sir, I would now like to say a few things with regard to my own State. Kerala is a neglected State. The Ministers from Kerala are also sitting there. Kerala is very much neglected. Our Chie f Minister and other Ministers have come and met the Finance Minister. I do not know whether something would be happening. Now, I come to the issue of setting up of an IIT in Kerala, which has achieved cent per cent literacy. When the Prime Minister came to Kerala, he said that whenever he announces the setting up of a new IIT, it would be in Kerala. What do our Vayalar Ji and Venugopal Ji have to say on this? Where is that IIT? Sir, Shri Vayalar Ravi is in-charge of Overseas Affairs. We are getting US $ 66 billion in remittances, which means that Rs. 3,33,000 crore are coming from the Gulf countries every year. What is the package you are giving to them? Our Government in Kerala has done something, but no amount has been earmarked here. During the reply, will the Government say something on this? 13.03.2013 Uncorrected / Not for Publication 457 I come from Kasargod in Kerala. The issue of Endosulfan is always an issue for us. The State Government ha s asked for Rs. 475 crore as a special package, but you have not extended a ny assistance with regard to this. With regard to giving financial assi stance, I am not against Thoothukudi, to which you have given a good amount and I congratulate you for the same, but at the same time, I am not happy because the Government has not given anything to Vizhinjam. With regard to financial assistance to the agricultural sector as well as cash crops, except rubber, since most of the sectors are in a declining mode, I would like to know whether the Government is ready to give and whether our Ministers from Kerala are ready to take a strong stand to get our due. We are not really asking for anything; it is the deserving assistance that we have to get. The cooperative sector in Kerala is really the best one. Last time when I met the Prime Minister and also the Finance Minister with all the representatives of the parties and told him that we have been collecting Rs. 70,000 crore from the cooperative sector, it was a surprise for him. That is the real success of the cooperative sector. At the same time, the new Act passed by this Parliament will really affect this cooperative sector. The Government has to give some exemption with regard to it. The last point is that Kerala has a very good and large public transport system, that is, KSRTC. It is really going to be closed because of recent rise in the price of diesel. While on the one hand, th e Government says that there is a high growth rate and it is trying to control inflation and all that, but on the other hand, people are not able to travel in the buses of the Transport Corporation, which was set up by the State Government of Kerala. However, due to the decisions taken by the Central Government, that is, rise in diesel prices, KSRTC is not in a position to run the buses. I would like to know whether the Government is ready to take any decision on this. Comment [S6]: Cd by t4 13.03.2013 Uncorrected / Not for Publication 458 (t4/1830/smn/asa) I would come to the last point. As far as Centrally Sponsored Schemes are concerned, like the PMGSY or the SSA or any other scheme, the difficulty is that the Government makes uniform norms for all the States. As far as education is concerned, the State of Kerala stands firs t. How can we compare Kerala with the other States? If we see the State of Tamil Nadu, the PDS is very good. It ranks first. In that case, how can we compare Tamil Nadu with other States? Because of this success in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, these States are being punished. They are not getting adequate due in many areas. We have the federal structure in India. It does not mean that one decision should be implemented in all States. Each State has its own problem. There should be some flexibility. I think the Government should take such a decision to have some flexibility; otherwise, many of the States would suffer because of the complexities that are prevailing. With these words, I conclude. (ends) 13.03.2013 Uncorrected / Not for Publication 459 1831 hours SHRI ANANDRAO ADSUL (AMR AVATI): Mr. Chairman, Sir, I thank you very much for giving me an opportunity to speak on the Budget 2013-14. Sir, the hon. Finance Minister has expressed his worries regarding the deficit of the Current Account which is about 75,000 billion dolla rs. The reason for the deficit is the dependence on oil imports, high volume of the coal imports and the passion for the gold. According to me, every Finance Minister has to concentrate on Current Account Deficit. Unfortunately, our Finance Minister has not concentrated on the Current Account Deficit. He has concentr ated on the forthcoming elections to the Parliament. Actually, this was visible when we see the allocation of funds to the various Departments. He thought that he would get the popularity and again the UPA Government would come to power. That is the aim behind this Budget. Our Finance Minister was talking about the GDP which is globally 3.2 per cent but our GDP rate is 5.5 per cent. At this moment, it is 5 per cent as per the Government calculations. There are 44 pers ons who are the richest in the world. About 4 per cent of them are richest in the world. This is on the one side. On the other side, there are crores of people who are not getting two square meals a day, clothes to wear and a house to protect them from the heat, cold and rain. In terms of percentage, it is 37 per cent people. In this poor country, the people who are below the poverty line have nothing to do with the GDP rate, whether it is 5 per cent or 5.5 per cent or the highest globally. I will appreciate that the Finance Minister has allocated Rs. 2,03,672 crore for the defence. It is the need of the day. While replying to the discussion on the President’s Address, our hon. Prime Minist er has told that on the one side, we have China and on the other side, we have Pakistan. They are coming together and planning to attack India. 13.03.2013 Uncorrected / Not for Publication 460 (u4/1835/sr-sk) That is why, the good allocation is made. I appreciate it. On the other side, on Human Resource Development, there are so many schemes. The allocation is of the order of Rs.65,867 crore. It was also essential. On Health, the allocation is Rs.37,330 crore; for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, the allocation is Rs.27,258 crore. He has allotted Rs.5,000 crore to NABARD particularly for financing the godowns and warehouses. Yes, it is also the need of the day. Lakhs of tonnes of food are wasted because there is not much space in the warehouses. That is why, it is essential. I can understand that. Another thing to appreciate is that he has given priority to women, farmers, students and allocated a good amount in the Budget. For example, there is a new scheme called Nirbhaya Fund. There are schemes like Women Need Fund and Mahila Public Sector Bank. He has allotted Rs.1,000 crore for each scheme. It shows the vision of the Finance Minister. The Finance Minister has announced 289 more cities which would get private FM radio stations. He has forgotten that there are hundreds of FM radio stations which are not working because of lack of staff. First of all, he has to see that for every radio station, there should be sufficient staff. He has announced additional deduction of the interest up to Rs.1 lakh on fresh home loans up to Rs.25 lakhs. The Finance Minister has not taken into consideration that one would not be able to get even one BHK flat within Rs.25 lakhs in any metropolitan city. That is why, this entitlement remains only in paper. The common man particularly the middle class salary earners are anxiously looking to the Budget. In these days of hi gh price, he thinks that he should get some relief by increasing the tax limit. But our Finance Minister has not increased the limit. He has given a subsidy of only Rs.2,000 or cash reimbursement for the persons in the income range of Rs.2 lakhs to Rs.5 lakhs. There is a provision of Rs.7 lakh crore for agriculture credit as against Rs.5.75 lakhs given in the last Budget. I would bring to the notice of the Finance Comment [SR7]: shri anandrao adsul cd. 13.03.2013 Uncorrected / Not for Publication 461 Minister that the Vaidyanathan Committee was appointed to survey the financial position of the State Cooperative Land Development Banks. These banks directly lend to the farmers for various purposes like tractors, ¤ÉèãÉ VÉÉäbÉÒ , equipment required for farming and so on. Nowadays, they are in bad shape. The Vaidyanathan Committee had suggested that a package of Rs.4,500 crore should be given to all the State Cooperative Land Development Ba nks. Out of this, an amount of Rs.950 crore was sanctioned to the State Co operative Land Development Bank of Maharashtra. Unfortunately, for the last three years, it has not been released. Now, that bank is on the path of liquidation. It has to be taken into consideration seriously. (w4/1840/kmr/bks) In the Budget the Finance Minister provided Rs.1,000 crore to the backward regions. In the last Budget, the then Finance Minister Hon. Pranab Mukherjee had also given a special packag e. I had asked for the definition of a backward region. If there are tribals in a region, I can understand if it is called a backward region. In my region Vidarbha there is a tribal community of more than three lakh population in my Constituency Amaravati. Secondly, that region belongs to six Districts – Amaravati, Akola, Yavatmal, Buldana, Washim and Wardha. In the last ten years, more th an 12,000 farmers have committed suicide in that region. The reason is that the area is very backward as far as irrigation and industries are concerned. That is why thos e farmers are really in distress and have committed suicides. Everyday you will see one or two farmers committing suicide. Therefore, it should be declared as a backward region. In the last Budget, while replying to the debate the then Finance Minister had announced Rs.300 crore to my region Vidarbha specifically for protecting irrigation facilities. I urge upon the Finance Minister that in this Budget also he should allocate a good amount. Not only that but monitoring should be done by the Central Government itself. I have seen that Rs.3,500 crore had been given to that particular region by way of Prime Minister’s package in 2006. Out of that, Comment [SR8]: cd. by w4 Comment [k9]: Anandrao adsul cd 13.03.2013 Uncorrected / Not for Publication 462 Rs.2,177 crore were provided specifically for the irrigation purpose. But our State Government had got nothing done. They have misappropriated that amount giving false utilisation certifications. They have committed a fraud over there. That is why monitoring should be done by the Central Government itself if you are providing the money. My colleague hon. Karunakaran has raised a point regarding the black money and I endorse it. Thousands of crores of rupees are locked up in black money abroad. If we succeed in bringing it back to our country, it will help in the development of our country. Many scams have taken place – Rs.1,76,000 crore worth 2G spectrum scam, Rs.1,86,000 crore worth coal Scam, more than Rs.50,000 crore worth Commonwealth Games scam. All put together if we count the money, in real sense there would be no need to tax any person in the country. If we collect that amount we can get good development in our country. Those who have committed fraud and misappropriation of funds go behind the bars. Somebody had already gone. But of what use is that to the people of the country. They are not getting that amount. That amount is lost to the people of the country. Nobody thinks about the fact that if that huge amount comes into the economy, definitely this country will be th e richest in the world as in the past we were the richest country in the world. Thank you very much, Sir, for giving me this opportunity. (ends) 13.03.2013 Uncorrected / Not for Publication 463 ̄gÉÉÒ ́ÉÉÒ®äxp BÉÖEàÉÉ® (]ÉÒBÉEàÉMÉfÃ) : * Laid on the Table 13.03.2013 Uncorrected / Not for Publication 464 ̄gÉÉÒ ºÉiÉ{ÉÉãÉ àÉcÉ®ÉVÉ (MÉfà ́ÉÉãÉ) : * Laid on the Table 13.03.2013 Uncorrected / Not for Publication 465 (x4/1845/gg-vp) 1845 ¤ÉVÉä gÉÉÒ +ÉVÉªÉ BÉÖEàÉÉ® (VÉàɶÉän{ÉÖ®) : ºÉ£ÉÉ{ÉÉÊiÉ VÉÉÒ, àÉé ªÉcÉÆ ºÉä ¤ÉÉäãÉxÉä BÉEÉÒ +ÉxÉÖàÉÉÊiÉ SÉÉciÉÉ cÚÄ* àÉé VÉxÉ®ãÉ ¤ÉVÉ] {É® ÉÊ ́ÉkÉ àÉÆjÉÉÒ VÉÉÒ BÉEä ºÉÉàÉxÉä BÉÖEU BÉEàÉå]弃 {Éä¶É BÉE®xÉÉ SÉÉciÉÉ cÚÄ* ºÉ®, +ÉÉ{ÉxÉä BÉEcÉ cè ÉÊBÉE ºÉÉfÃä iÉÉÒxÉ ãÉÉJÉ BÉE®Éä½ °ô{ɪÉä BÉEÉÒ bäÉÊ{ÉEÉʺÉ] cÉäMÉÉÒ* +ÉMÉ® càÉ ãÉÉäMÉ {ÉÚEb B ÉEÉì{ÉÉæ®ä¶ÉxÉ +ÉÉì{ÉE
Posted on: Fri, 07 Jun 2013 07:29:02 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015