Budget to benefit corporate: Cong

Tribune News Service

Mandi, March 1

Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee president Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu termed the Budget as a budget of the corporate and for the corporate. The NDA government had ignored the interests of public, he said.

Sukhu, while attending a meeting of the Dharampur Block Congress Committee at Sarkaghat in the district, said the only class that had benefited from the Budget was the corporate, while all others had been burdened by the Centre with increase in excise duty and Service Tax.

“The NDA government’s first full Budget has failed the fiscal test,” he said, adding that ignoring the poor was against the ethos of the country and the government was doing exactly that.

State Congress chief said the NDA government had sidelined the hopes of the common man by increasing Service Tax from 12.36 to 14 per cent that would lead to price rise.

“The rise in Service Tax from 12.36 per cent to 14 per cent will lead to increase in prices of essential commodities, thereby affecting the public and hike in the education cess would also adversely affect the low income groups. The middle class and lower income groups were hoping for an increase in Income Tax slab but the Centre did not offered any respite,” he said.

Sukhu said it was against the wishes of the people who had voted for four BJP MPs during the Lok Sabha elections. “The MPs have failed to put the demand of the state in Parliament,” he said, adding PM Narendra Modi too deceived the state as during his visit to the state, he said Himachal was his second home.

He said the NDA government had failed to fulfil the demand of an international airport in Himachal and also failed to provide international status to Asia’s first horticulture university at Naini.

He urged party workers to strengthen its organisation so that the Congress could emerge out strongly and said the Congress government was ensuring development of all sections of society.

The meeting was attended by Political Adviser to CM Rangila Ram Rao, DCC, Mandi, president Puran Chand, BCC Dharampur president JK Azad, SC Department Chairman Suresh Kumar, DCC Hamirpur, president Naresh Thakur and Pawan Thakur, Ajay Chandel, Naresh Sharma and hundreds of party workers from the Youth Congress, the Mahila Congress and frontal organisations.