BJP describes budget as anti-people

BJP senior leader Bandaru Dattatreya on Friday described the Budget 2012-13 as an anti-common man, anti-people and anti-growth oriented budget.

In a statement, he said that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee allowed the marketing forces to work on the ordinary people of the country. “The budget had a narrow approach on several issues. On one side common items like gas, fertilizers, oils etc will become costly and on the other, the budget conceals hidden agenda of reforms. It indirectly hints at private participation in every aspect of the society,” he said.

He suspected the achievement of expected growth rate for the current year at 6.9 percent and projected growth rate for 2012-13 at 7.6 percent.

He said the budget has proposed to increase the rates of Service Tax and Central Excise from 10 to 12 percent. It has also been proposed to bring many new areas into Service Tax net by prescribing Negative List for the first time since 1994. The proposal will have inflationary effect of increase in the prices of goods and services, he added.

Dattatreyya took serious note on allowing the FDI in Multi Brand Retail Trade and said it would have negative impact on the small and medium businessmen.