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Tamil Nadu
By Our Tamil Nadu Bureau
The Finance Minister, C. Ponnaiyan, presenting the Tamil Nadu budget in the Assembly on Friday. The Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, and the Revenue Minister, O. Paneerselvam, are going through the budget copy, even as the Congress Legislature party leader, S.R. Balasubramaniam, tries to lodge his protest. — Photo: V. Ganesan
Minutes before the Finance Minister, C. Ponnaiyan, began his address at 10 a.m. sharp, CPI (M) members, walked into the House, dressed in black — men were in black shirts and the woman MLA was clad in a black saree. Looking at the "black" appearance, a smiling Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, gently asked, "why they were wearing black". Not letting go of the chance, the CPI (M) floor leader, J. Hemachandran, shot back with his pungent humour: "You have abandoned Periyar (EVR followers wear black shirts). But we have decided to follow him." Actually, they were in black to protest withdrawal of free power supply to farms and huts. A little earlier, in a rare moment of bonhomie, the DMK deputy leader, Durai Murugan, and the Chief Minister not only exchanged friendly smiles but also shared a laugh. But when the proceedings unfolded, cordiality gave way to a noisy protest. Even as Mr. Ponnaiyan began reading out his budget, the Congress floor leader, S.R. Balasubramaniam, rose to record his protest against the government policies. But the Speaker, K. Kalimuthu, firmly refused permission, prompting Mr. Balasubramaniam to lead his party men out.
BJP joins walkout
Next, it was the turn of the leader of the Opposition and DMK general secretary, K. Anbazhagan, to make a barely-audible statement and leave the House. Then, surprisingly, the BJP, which would not normally join the Opposition protest, rushed out along with the DMK members. The PMK, the CPI and the CPI (M) followed suit. And, the Finance Minister read out the budget to empty Opposition benches.
`Budget will add to burden'
Most Opposition parties disputed the government claim that the budget was development and growth-oriented, and said it would only increase the burden on the people, who were already reeling under drought conditions and increases in the prices of services and essential commodities. Mr. Durai Murugan described the budget as ``96 pages of nothing'' and said there was no mention of ushering in industrial development and enhancing social welfare schemes. Besides, by seeking to enlarge the tax net, the Government had only ended up inflicting more misery on an already taxed population, introducing more indirect taxes. There was no mention of the promised hike in the rate for sugarcane procurement. The Government sought to blindly follow the dictates of the World Bank and wanted to fill its coffers by looting the people, he said. The State Congress chief, S. Balakrishnan, in a statement, criticised the Government for not announcing any measure to implement the AIADMK election promises made in 2001, of an increased procurement price for sugarcane or generating employment opportunities. There was also no follow-up on the series of announcements made by the Chief Minister during her tour of districts. The Pattali Makkal Katchi said there was nothing for the people to cheer. Its founder, S. Ramadoss, said the State gross domestic product would not rise with the budget; only the tax burden would go up. Apart from the Union Government's food-for-work programme, there was no scheme announced for bringing down unemployment. Extending the freeze on recruitment for a third year should be condemned.
Local bodies will be hit
The BJP State general secretary, H. Raja, criticised the government move to take away the cable TV tax from local bodies, and said it would badly affect their finances. Describing the budget as a mere `play of words' and anti-poor, the CPI (M) said the Government was silent on poverty eradication, strengthening of the public distribution system, new employment generation schemes and helping the suffering textile workers. At a time when the power tariff had been raised exorbitantly, the proposal to raise an additional Rs. 430 crores by way of taxes and the move to leave an uncovered deficit of Rs. 865 crores would lead to an acute inflation and prices would skyrocket. The CPI said all sections felt cheated by the budget, which concentrated on a tourism sector plan rather than on the primary sector and the farming community. Though 28 districts were declared drought hit in the Governor's address, the Government did not announce what action it proposed to initiate to tide over the crisis. In a statement here, the State secretary, R. Nallakannu, said that despite the drought, loan recovery was going on unhindered, further affecting the poor.
`A war on people'
The MDMK presidium chairman, L. Ganesan, described the budget as a ``war on the people,'' and said it showed that the Government had no consideration for the people. There was no scheme worth mentioning in the budget, which had not spared any section including government servants. At Mayiladuturai, the Congress Jananayaga Peravai leader, P. Chidambaram, said the proposed hike in motor vehicle taxes would culminate in an increase in bus fares in the near-future. He regretted that there was no new scheme for the agriculture sector; nor was there any mention of funds allocation to local bodies. Sufficient funds had not been allotted to them during the last two years.
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