New Delhi: Lok Sabha member Mahua Moitra on Tuesday hit out at Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, saying she has made a mockery of people of India in the budget by doing absolutely nothing and whatever little changes are there are regressive and ill thought of. Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Moitra criticized the budget for failing to address the needs of the common people, calling it an "elucidatory budget".
"People wanted a course correction, but you have done the exact opposite. You have kept the same Cabinet, the same Finance Minister, who has given the same shoddy budget," Moitra said. "The Finance Minister has made mockery of people of India in the budget by doing absolutely nothing, whatever little changes are there are regressive and ill thought of," she added.
The TMC MP questioned the purpose of the budget, highlighting its adverse impact on the middle class and the poor. Who is this budget for? The middle class makes up 31 per cent of India and the poor account for 60-65 per cent. This budget systematically strangles both groups. It is a save the chair' budget for this government and even that it doesn't do very well, she asserted.
Moitra explained the imbalance in the tax system, noting the direct taxes are progressive while indirect taxes are regressive. In India, it is the exact opposite - 65 per cent of tax collection comes from indirect taxes where billionaires pay the same as the poorest labourers and only 35 per cent comes from direct taxes, she pointed out.
For the first time in our country's history, the salaried class is sharing a greater tax burden than rich corporates. The middle class is contributing 55 per cent of direct income taxes under this government, while the richest corporates contribute only 45 per cent. Not only are the middle class being taxed, but with this budget, their savings have also been taxed with the removal of indexation and the rise in short-term capital gains, Moitra said.
The TMC leader also condemned the high GST rates on life and medical insurance. There is 18 per cent GST levied on life and medical insurance. The MoS Finance told this House that the government collected Rs 8,263 crore as GST on health insurance in 2023-24 - this is blood money. This should be removed, she said.
Moitra criticized the government's allocation for social sector schemes, stating that when adjusted for inflation, there has been a 25 per cent decrease in the budget over the past decade. She provided specific reductions: Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is down by 18 per cent, Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan by 9 per cent, ICDS by 34 per cent, Mission Anganwadi by 5 per cent, PM Poshan by 45 per cent and PMGAY by 47 per cent.
Moitra warned that the government's focus on protecting its position is compromising national security. Military experts have repeatedly warned that India's military capabilities need modernization. The budget allocation for defence is Rs 6.22 lakh crore, a marginal decrease of Rs 2,000 crore compared to the revised budget. This allocation is only 1.9 per cent of the GDP, the lowest since 1960. We have been unable to compel China to restore status quo on the LAC and deter Pakistan effectively, she emphasised.
Moitra also accused the government of having the worst track record in job creation and criticized its handling of energy security, suggesting that it favoured business interests over environmental and public health concerns. In a scathing remark, she implied that the reduced budget for agencies like the CBI and ED might be due to their overuse for political purposes or outsourcing control to powerful businessmen.
We agree with the Finance Minister on one thing: the budget for the CBI and ED has been reduced this year. Is it because voters did not like their misuse or is it because you have outsourced them completely to a businessman in Ahmedabad? she questioned. Speaking about her own case, the TMC leader claimed that a business tycoon from Ahmedabad threatened another businessman to file a fake affidavit against her.
On this, Lok Sabha MP N K Premchandran demanded that the matter may be referred to a privilege committee. To this, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey stood up and said he is the one who complained against Moitra in Lok Pal. "The case she is mentioning is my case related to the Lokpal. I have filed the complaint and the matter is sub judice, being investigated by the CBI and ED. Why is the person she is talking about not coming to India?" he asked.
