By Pervez Bari, TwoCircles.net,
Bhopal: The Social Democratic Party of India, (SDPI), has demanded that the UPA Government should have a re-look at hiking of fuel prices, following the presentation of Union Budget, to save “Aam Aadmi” (common man) from further blues of shooting prices of essential goods.
A. Sayeed, General Secretary SDPI, in a Press release said that SDPI is totally disappointed with the Union Budget presented by Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in Parliament as increase in fuel prices will further fuel upward the prices of essential commodities.
Sayeed said that the “Aam Aadmi” which is already reeling under the skyrocketing prices of food products and other essential commodities will be burdened further and would find it difficult to make both ends meet. The hike in petrol and diesel prices will have chain reactions and the efforts of Congress-led UPA Government to put in check spiraling prices of essential commodities will be reduced to naught. Thus, the budget can be said to be anti-poor and anti-people budget.
The release said the SDPI has felt that the Union Budget is also a let-down for the five million drought-hit farmers in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra. Their plea to the Union Finance Minister to provide more funds to restore their rural system and also control the massive corruption that is prevalent in this region due agrarian crisis has been completely ignored. There is no plan in the budget to address the ongoing agrarian crisis and issue of food security.
Leave apart the special relief package as given to drought-hit Bundelkhand region in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, Pranab Mukherjee has not even considered to provide any relief to dying 50,000 farm widows of the Vidarbha region. The announcement in the budget are peanuts as concession in interest rate on crop loan is ridiculous as due to severe crop loss in drought, all pending crop loan is being reconstructed. Thus, the budget also seems to be anti-farmer, the release stated.
Meanwhile, SDPI is happy to note that the government has proposed a hike of 50 percent in plan allocation for the next fiscal for the welfare of minority communities in India, the release added. ([email protected])