The Congress party on Wednesday urged finance minister P Chidambaram to present a populist pro aam admi budget.
NEW DELHI: The Congress party on Wednesday urged finance minister P Chidambaram to present a populist pro aam admi budget. The advice came at a two-and-a-half-hour interactive session between the finance minister and senior party functionaries at the party headquarters. Chidambaram patiently listened to the demands and suggestions made by his party men, but gave little away, save saying that: “I have heard what they had to say. The response will come on February 29.”
During the interaction, the electoral concerns of the party came to the fore, with a majority of the members expressing desire to ensure tangible relief to the aam admi. “The well-off alone should not gain, the benefits of this growth must percolate to the deprived section as well,” said Rajesh Misra, party MP from Varanasi.
The FM was inundated by a range of demands from his party, from farm loan waiver to reduction of home loans and holding of the price line, during the meeting. The members gave full vent to their concerns and the need to give the government a “pro poor face”. “The minister must come up with measures to help save farmers from committing suicides,” said S Surjewalla head of the party’s Kisan cell.
The meeting was in many ways a rude awakener for the suave finance minister, as his own party colleagues told him in no uncertain terms that the much touted nine per cent growth rate had made little difference to the common man. “Unless you can rein in the prices and come up with specific programmes meant for the poor there is little hope for us,” a Congress party MP told him.
Price rise was a dominant theme in the interaction, with the leaders demanding that the issue be addressed in right earnest. “The benefits of the GDP will not percolate down if price rise is not controlled,” said senior party leader M Veerappa Moily.
Apart from asking for tax cuts, several leaders demanded that all banks should announce reduction in home loans, and specific programmes aimed at helping the farmers. Several members wanted that the party’s attempt at social engineering was reflected in the budget.
j_ansari@dnaindia.net
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