By IANS
New Delhi : The ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) allies and its Left supporters Thursday asked the government to take steps to control prices and to ensure that the benefits of economic growth reach to the weaker sections of society.
At a dinner hosted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the UPA constituents and the Left leaders at his residence, the leaders also expressed concern over the government’s failure to highlight its achievements and the welfare schemes, informed sources said.
The dinner meeting, first of its kind ahead of the 2008-09 union budget to be presented later this month, was attended by Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) general secretary Prakash Karat, who was accompanied by other Left leaders, as well as UPA ally leaders.
“The UPA is doing good work. But it has not yet able to give it publicity. So the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) is doing counter propaganda,” Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, who attended the meeting, told reporters.
At the meeting, UPA allies and the Left parties submitted their ‘wish list’ to Finance Minister P. Chidambaram ahead of the budget.
The communists are believed to have told the prime minister and Congress president Sonia Gandhi that the government should go ahead with the long-pending women’s reservation bill – to provide 33 percent reservation for women in parliament and legislative assemblies.
Earlier in the day, the CPI-M-led Left parties demanded the UPA government to do away with the “exorbitant” tax exemptions in special economic zones (SEZs), revise the tax structure and to provide more funds for welfare schemes.
They also asked the government not to be “obsessed” with the growth rate and instead the upcoming budget should concentrate on redistributing the benefits of growth to all sections of society, particularly the socio-economically weaker sections.
Criticising that the UPA government has not fulfilled the commitments it has given in the mutually agreed Common Minimum Programme – the agenda for governance – the four Left parties presented their wish list ahead of the coalition government’s fourth budget. CPI-M-led Left parties support the UPA government from outside.
“Budget 2008-09 should make wholehearted attempt in order to tackle the persisting problems faced by the people, the agrarian crisis, unemployment and price rise,” Karat told reporters here at a press conference jointly addressed by the Left leaders.
“Resources have to be mobilized by taxing profits and capital gains, which are increasing at rates many times faster than the overall growth of national income,” Karat said.
The Communists reiterated their long pending demand that the rich and the affluent sections as well as the corporate should be taxed more.
“Myriad tax concessions to corporates and affluent sections, which are nothing but subsidies to the rich, should be progressively eliminated in the backdrop of growing income inequalities.”
The Left sought to constitute a Farmer’s Debt Relief Commission and to write off debts for small and marginal farmers across the country. It also asked the government to raise the food subsidy, increase the allocation for health and education and other welfare schemes.
Karat said the government should now initiate its efforts to extend the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), which provides 100 days job for the able bodied person in rural families, to the urban areas too. The NREGA, which was introduced in 250 districts, will be extended to all rural districts from April 1 onwards.
“The re-introduction of the long-term capital gains tax and an increase in the rate of short-term capital gains tax will correct the anomaly in the taxation structure, which has led to inflows of speculative capital in the stock market causing high volatility,” the Communists said.