New Delhi: Criticising the Union Budget for 2019-20, Rajya Sabha MP T. Subbarami Reddy said that the Modi 2.O Budget, presented by finance ninister Nirmala Sitharaman, almost ignored the developmental aspect of Andhra Pradesh.
Mr Reddy, however, put forth a slew of demands before the government, including special category status to Andhra Pradesh as well as providing adequate financial assistance for building new state capital among other demands for the betterment of the state.
Mentioning the Koraput-Bolangir-Kalahandi or KBK-like special plan in Odisha and Bundelkhand special package in Madhya Pradesh and UP, Mr Reddy further demanded that there should be a special package for the backward regions of Andhra Pradesh — four districts of Rayalaseema and three districts of coastal Andhra in particular.
As far as the financial assistance is concerned, he said, “We need some financial aid to bridge the gap of deficit financing and non-plan revenue gap of '15,691 crore. But nothing is provided in the Budget.”
Besides, Mr Reddy also criticised the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tall claim on five trillion-dollar economy by 2024, saying that the country is facing a slowdown, with negligible inflow of investment, high unemployment rate, poor implementation of GST and other government’s beneficiary schemes.
On the stock market and investment prospective, he said, “In the last fortnight, almost 30 industries have lost heavily in the share market. Sensex is fluctuating and ultimately at the end, it nosedives and goes below the average.”
“Investors can use GDP to make investments decisions — a bad economy means lower earnings and lower stock prices. If you want employment generation, industrial growth should go up at par,” he added.
As far as the unemployment scenario in the country is concerned, he also mentioned the findings of Periodic Labour Force Survey conducted every five years, which has confirmed that the unemployment rate is at 6.1 per cent in 2017-18, which is the 45-year high.
On Goods and Services Tax (GST), though Mr Reddy appreciated the government’s effort, at the same time he blamed for its poor implementation of the unified tax.
“I appreciate the spirit behind bringing the GST, But at the same time, I want to know why people should be harassed and threatened with arrest if they are not able to pay the tax due to constraint of money,” he asked.
