Budget serves interests of corporates and foreign capitalists instead of common people: CPI

The Communist Party of India (CPI) Friday alleged that the Union Budget is based on mere rhetoric and "serves the interests of corporates and foreign capitalists" instead of the common people. CPI National Secretary D Raja claimed the government has cut expenditure on the welfare of women, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and does not mention how to take the country's economy to USD 5 trillion.

"In the name of ease of doing business, it has made a commitment to serve the interests of corporates and foreign capitalists," he said. Raja alleged, "The Union Budget should be on the economic realities of the country and not on rhetoric. This budget tends to not address major challenges -- the crisis in the industrial sector -- and depends upon foreign portfolio investments and domestic investors."

The CPI leader claimed that massive disinvestment of public sector undertakings to general revenue expenditure and cess on petrol and diesel will increase inflation and will have a cascading effect on overall prices. "Expenditure on women welfare has fallen from 5.1 percent to 4.9 percent and spending on the welfare of SCs/STs is not substantial. Also, there is a fall in budgetary allocation for flagship programs like MNREGA," Raja said.

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