Rejecting the charge of the Opposition that there was nothing exciting in the Union Budget and it was not bold enough, the Congress said today that the central message was to make development reach poor and backward sections of the country at a faster pace.
"The central message of the budget was to bring the poor, unemployed, backward, SC/STs and minorities in the mainstream of development at a faster pace," party spokesman Manish Tewari told reporters here.
He said that the finance minister has ensured that this was done without putting the burden on the middle class and corporates by imposing taxes on them.
Tewari cited some of the features of the budget to argue that it will bring fundamental changes in the economy.
The spokesman pointed to the policy on fertiliser subsidy, setting up of an expert committee on petroleum prices, proposal to bring a National Food Security Bill, setting up of Unique Identification Authority etc. and said these will bring fundamental changes in the country.
He also referred to the tax incentives linked not to profitability but to investment, an electoral trust for election funding, proposal for the Goods and Services tax and the encouragement given to bio-diesel as important, something which had never been done in the past.
"These are bold ideas of the budget, initiatives which are practical and lay the foundation..." Tewari said.
Dismissing the talk of "big bang reforms, he said, "change should be incremental so that the society can absorb it".
Asked about the reference of the finance minister to the loan waiver of farmers who had taken money from private persons in Maharashtra and whether it will be implemented all over the country, Tewari said in that state the situation is serious so it was mentioned.
"If a law is made, it will be applicable to the whole of India. From 1950 to 2009, there have been occasions when the loan from private persons was waived off," he added.
The spokesperson, however, said that due to the loan waiver, three kinds of farmers have emerged in the rural area. The first category comprises those whose loans have been waived, the second includes those who took loans from the private persons and the third are those who paid off their loan.
He said special incentives are being given to those who have paid off their loan.
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