'Govt following policy of social injustice'

By Our Staff Correspondent

SHIMLA, MARCH 5. ``The latest Union budget is not going to increase economic growth rate at all, as the Government is following the policy of economic growth with social injustice,'' says Mr. M. K. Pande, the all-India general secretary of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) and a senior member of the CPI(M) Politburo.

Mr. Pande, who is also an in-charge of party affairs in Himachal Pradesh, is here for a two-day State Committee meeting. In an exclusive interview to TheHindu, he said, the budget is ``anti- working class'' and ``anti-poor''. Instead of protecting the Indian economy, the present Government and the Indian Finance Minister are going faster than required on the WTO conditions which are otherwise also harmful to the country, he said. Many Western countries have increased the anti- dumping duties and custom duties but India is dancing to the tunes of World Bank and IMF, he added.

Making a mockery of the Government's claims of a reduction in the number of people below poverty line, he said this data is totally misleading and there is an error in the method. Poverty, which was earlier measured for 365 days, is now measured for 30 days or even seven days. The public distribution system in the country is going to suffer the most as the Government has introduced privatisation even in procurement and purchase policy in PDS, he said.

Another drawback of this ``anti-poor budget'' is that it has reduced excise duty on cars, colour televisions and refrigerators and increased the prices of sugar, soap, bidi and tobacco, Mr. Pande said.

He criticised the ban on further recruitments by the Government as well as the 10 per cent retrenchment. At least 14 to 15 welfare departments are closed. There is no expansion in Government services and India has lost the right to be called a welfare State, he added.

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