National

Chidambaram hears party colleagues’ budgetary demands

NEW DELHI: Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on Wednesday heard budgetary demands from his party party colleagues that ranged from lower interest on home loans and higher limit for income tax exemption to concrete steps to check price rise. There was unanimity on the observation that the benefits of the nearly 9 per cent growth rate had not trickled down to the “aam aadmi,” the poor.

AICC media committee chairman M. Veerappa Moily said Mr. Chidambaram was told that the GDP growth should benefit all and not just the upper crust of society. It would have to trickle down through budgetary support and the state would have to intervene to make it possible. “All GDP growth will be flooded away if the price rise is not controlled,” he told journalists.

Mr. Moily said several office-bearers of the party felt that after Rahul Gandhi took charge of the Youth Congress and the National Students Union of India, the youth were looking forward with great hope.

“We expect this year’s budget to respond positively to the aspirations of the youth with employment generation programmes linked to capacity building and to bridge the gap between semi-educated and professionally qualified youth.”

The party sought waiver of loans to small and marginal farmers (the scheme is already under way (as reported by The Hindu), increased farm credit, a universal weather-based crop insurance scheme, new schemes to mitigate farmers’ debts and a rise in the Rs. 3-lakh limit for loans to farmers at 7 per cent interest.

The party also wanted the Public Distribution System redesigned as a food security programme and sought national scholarship in higher education for the disadvantaged and marginalised sections and OBCs.

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