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Lok Sabha okays first stage of Budget

The Lok Sabha late last night approved by a voice vote the first stage of the Union Budget for 1999-2000 with relevant appropriation bills after a spirited reply to the debate by Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha resolving to reduce fiscal deficit and keep prices under control.

Opposition members in the Lok Sabha sought a strict control on government expenditure and said that austerity measures were a must in the wake of economic crisis.

Mohan Singh (Samajwadi Party) opposed the Budget provisions and said that the government should increase the tax net to mobilise more resources and tighten noose around tax evaders.

While demanding control on the government expenditure, he said that cosmetic and token steps would not resolve the financial crisis. He was referring to Sinha's recent step to abolish the post of a bureaucrat in his office.

He said that the government should earmark food grains allocations to states under the public distribution system in proportion to the population of persons living below the poverty line.

Raghuvans Prasad Singh (Rashtriya Janata Dal) who also ridiculed the claim of the treasury benches that it was an excellent and progressive Budget said that strict measures be undertaken to regulate operations of the non banking finance companies, many of whom had fleeced poor depositors and swindled several hundred millions.

Singh regretted that the Centre had no agenda for Bihar which has 100 million people and out of which 54 per cent are below the poverty line, saying the Centre has a two-pronged strategy -- dismiss the state government and divide the state into two parts. Singh demanded that the Centre should immediately release funds due to Bihar without any discrimination and malice.

Vaiko (Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) supported the budget and said that the current Budget had wonderful schemes like Annapurna, technology upgradation plan for textile units etc. He demanded special concessions for cottage industries.

Prof Prem Singh Chandumajara (Shiromani Akali Dal) demanded that industrial policy be reviewed and there should be two sectors -- capital intensive units and labour intensive units -- and multinational companies should be barred from entering into the latter sector.

He said the recent age relaxation of two years to retiring government employees be withdrawn as it was only aggravating unemployment problems. He demanded the government should ensure employment at least to one person in each family.

He also demanded rollback of the recently hiked diesel and urea prices .

The house later deferred discussion on the Budget which it was slated to approve Tuesday tonight to take up a debate under rule 193 on the charges levelled by Mohan Guruswamy, former advisor to Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha.

UNI

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