The Hindu : Mixed reaction to Union budget in A.P.

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Mar 01, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Andhra Pradesh

Mixed reaction to Union budget in A.P.

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD FEB. 28. Political parties in the State have reacted along predictable ideological lines to the Union Budget for 2003-04 with the BJP hailing some of its provisions as `revolutionary' and the Left parties denouncing it as anti-poor.

The CLP leader, Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, on Friday said that it was high on promises but low on actual allocations to implement them.

He said the move to introduce medical insurance to people living below the poverty line (BPL) and the Finance Minister, Jaswant Singh's resolve to reduce the interest burden of States by allowing `debt swapping' were the only noteworthy features in an otherwise lacklustre budget.

Dr. Rajasekhara Reddy said Mr. Jaswant Singh had not addressed himself to the basic issue of stepping up expenditure on basic infrastructure.

The fall in GDP growth rate from 5.2 per cent to 4.2 per cent this year was a reflection of the poor shape of the economy.

The CLP leader saw no reason for the Government to boast that the foreign exchange reserves had touched the $70 billion mark because this figure was equivalent to the nation's trade deficit.

It was apparent that foreign companies were parking funds in India because of higher interest rates here. He said Mr. Singh ought to have drastically reduced the rates of lending to the farm sector.

The BJP welcomed the budget, saying it paved the way for poverty alleviation by creating basic facilities.

The party spokesman, Parakala Prabhakar, said the Finance Minister was seeking to implement the reforms agenda without harming the interests of BPL families.

He described as `revolutionary' the proposal to provide health insurance cover to the poor by collecting one rupee a day and complimented the Prime Minister, A. B. Vajpayee, for this step.

He lauded the budget for giving a boost to health, housing, national highways and service sectors besides bringing an additional 50 lakh people under the Antyodaya programme.

The CPI (M) State Secretary, B. V. Raghavulu, came down heavily on the budget by accusing the NDA Government of giving huge sops to the affluent sections at the expense of the poor and common people.

He expressed disappointment that not only had the Centre failed to provide relief to drought-stricken people of Andhra Pradesh but also hiked the prices of fertilizers and diesel.

He feared that the budget would deal a severe blow to artisans and to rural employment in general.

Small-scale industries would be forced to close down following the Centre's decision to reduce import duties on foreign goods.

The budget would undermine the agriculture sector and break the backs of farmers.

The CPI, in a separate statement, said the the Union Government was clearly travelling in the direction dictated by the World Bank, the World Trade Organisation and the International Monetary Fund.

Its Assistant Secretary, K. Narayana, said the decision to increase the prices of petrol, diesel, fertilizers and cement would fuel inflationary trends and burden the common man.

The decision to raise the ceiling on foreign equity in banks from 49 per cent to 74 per cent would increase the foreign influence on the economy.

The move to encourage private banks to meet the credit requirements of farmers was ill-advised, he said.

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