February 9, 2017
Sukhendu Sekhar Roy speaks in Rajya Sabha on the Union Budget
FULL TRANSCRIPT
Thank you, Vice-Chairman Sir. Sir, India’s economy moves mainly on four wheels – Government spending, consumption, export and private investment. But this Budget focuses only on the first two because exports have lost momentum; even the Finance Minister has mentioned this, but nothing has been said about how this situation of declining exports can be combatted.
The windfall from oil has gone into refurbishing the Government finances, and good times may end as the crude prices are inching up. Indian companies being cash-rich, are not investing here or abroad. Banks in the top ten are in their lowest ebb in decades and nothing has been said about the NPAs mounting over the years, and who the big fishes are who are siphoning up the public money from the banks?
Sir, this Budget of the Hon’ble Finance Minister is full of assurances, rhetoric and some jugglery of wheeler dealers. First of all, I would like to move to para 4 of the Budget speech. Here the Hon’ble Finance Minister has assured that “we shall continue to undertake many more measures to ensure that the fruits of growth reach the farmers, the workers, the poor, the schedules castes, the scheduled tribes, the women”, etc. Now, we are tired of listening to this story of growth. As per the World Bank report published in October 2016, India accounts for one in three of the people living below the international poverty line; and that way, India is having the largest number of poorest people in the world.
Secondly, India’s 224 million people among the world’s poor population will live below the poverty – second is Nigeria, with 86 million. So within our reach there is another country – Nigeria, but that country too is having only 86 million below poverty line (BPL), compared to India’s 226 million. Sir, 800 million Indians live on less than $1.9US dollars a day. What a shame when we are talking about growth rate, etc.
Sir, according to human development indicators in India, the country’s wealth has increased in the last two-and-a-half decades more than three times, from Rs 75 trillion to Rs 224 trillion. The irony of fate is that more than 60 per cent of this increase in wealth only to the top 1 per cent of Indians. In other words, 1 per cent of our population has grabbed Rs 90 trillion, in terms of a country’s increase in wealth.
This is the story of the country, and here is a reflection of that story in the Budget speech of the Hon’ble Finance Minister, that we are committed to the increase of growth, for the poor people, the scheduled castes, the scheduled tribes, backward people, women, youth, etc. if the growth rate does not reflect on the financial condition of the poorest of the poor, then this growth rate shall continue to be a myth, according to me. I may be excused for saying so.
Now let’s go to para 7 of the Budget speech. Here again, the Hon’ble Finance Minister has claimed, and rightly claimed, that foreign direct investment has increased by 36 per cent. But, and this is very important, there is no mention about how much FII (foreign institutional investment) is going back from the share markets. I would like to place before you a figure – that FIIs are consistently selling in both the equity and fixed income markets since November 8.
The net outflow from this is Rs 42,000 crore in the debt market and Rs 28,000 crore in the equity market, as on January 23, 2017. Therefore, from November 8, 2016 to January 23, 2017, Rs 70,000 crore has already gone out. The Finance Minister has not cared to speak a single word on this, and why this has happened or what is the policy of the Government to combat such a situation in the future.
Sir, kindly move to para 11. Everybody has spoken, and this will be continued in all the speeches; this is being continued in the five States in which elections are being held, and thereafter too, this will be referred to again and again. Demonetisation is the issue.
Sir, mere vichar se yeh bhi ek jumla hain, ki woh jo paanch rajyon mein chanav ho raha hain, November 8 mein socha gaya tha ki hum ko toh pakda jayega bhai, ki bahar se jo kala dhan le aane ka aaswasan diya tha uska kiya hua. Hamare khate mein 15 lakh jama karne ka aashwasan diya tha uska kiya hua, ki janta ko hum kiya jawab denge. Toh aisa kuch kadam uthaya jaaye ta ki kuch aandhi paida kiya jaaye aur chunav beet jane ka baad hum phir hamare geet gaate rahenge, aur bolenge, woh toh chunavi jumla tha. Toh mere vichar se yehi ek karan that ki us samay yeh kar diya.
Toh hamare Mukhya Mantri Mamata Banerjee pehle leader thi Hindustan mein jinhone iske khilaf bayan diya. Phir baad mein dusre rajnaitik dal ke netao ne bayan diya. Toh hum par ilzaam lagaya giya ki yeh log taiyar nahin they, iss liye yeh log dar gaye. Iska matlab mein vistar se nahin bolna chahta hoon, yeh Sadan hain, Upper House hain, lekin sab koyi samajhta hain ki Pradhan Mantri ji bhi bola, ki yeh log taiyar nahin they. Is ka aur ek arth bhi nikalta hain – iska matlab sattadhari dal taiyar they. Yeh log taiyar they, yeh log jante they ki kya hone wala hain. Isi liye Kalkatta ke bank mein paisa jama hua ek raat mein, hazaro karoro rupiya, aur Bengal, Odisha, Rajasthan, Bihar mein sau acre zameen kharida gaya cash se. Toh yeh log taiyar the. In logon ko jankari tha ki yeh hone wala hain. Is liye inke pass jitney kala dhan the sab safed ho gaya. Jab tak yeh satta mein rahegi na toh koi ED, na koi SEBI, na koi CBI, SFIO yeh koi kuch nehi karega. Yeh sab jante hain. Dusre logon ke piche laga denge.
November 8, 2016 ko government jo press release nikala tha aur government ka notification dono mere pass hain. Sab dekhe hain. Main do line padna chahta hoon. “With a view to curbing financing of terrorism through the proceeds of fake Indian currency notes and use of such funds for subversive activities such as smuggling afim, drugs and other counterfiets into India and for eliminating black money which caste a long shadow of parallel economy on our real economy it has been decided to cancel the legal tender character of the high denomination notes etc ”.
This is the objective of the government notification for demonetisation. Black money comes at last. The first one is the use of funds in subversive activities. My question is after 90 days of the declaration of demonetisation how much fake currencies have been seized. How much black money has been recovered? To what extent these subversive activities have been curbed? Why there is no mention of this in the Presidential speech or the Budget speech or in any statement of the government so far. This House wants to know, the nation wants to know.
Log teen mahine se zyada katar mein khare hain. Tin mahina se zyada samay tak Hindustan ke sari janta bank aur ATM ki kataron ke samne khare hain iss umeeid par ke aj hum jo kasht kar rahe hain shayad Pradhan Mantri Ji ne jo bola, sarkar ne jo bola, sare kala dhan jabd ho jayega. Hindustan mein hariyali cha ayegi iss asha mein hamare janta teen mahina kasht kiya.
Ab uss janta ke samne sarkar ka koi jawab hi nahi hain. Aj tak sarkar ne koi aankrein nahi diya. Uss janta ke samne aj tak sarkar ek shabd bhi nehi bola ki kitne kala dhan barammaat huya hain.
Arey kaise kala dhan milega? Yeh toh jumla hain, mein toh pehle bol chuka hoon. Agar jumla nahi hota to ab tak jo bola ke bidesh se hum kala dhan layenge. Parson hamare Vitta Mantri ji ek sawal ke jawab mein bol rahe the humne agreement kiya hain Singapore se, hum ne agreement kiya hain Mauritius se, Cyprus se aur na jane kitne sare deshon se.
Yeh agreement MoU jaisa hota hain. Ton ton MoU hota hain saal bhar. Aur kitna investment hota hain vasstav mein, woh hum jante hain. Waise hi signature ho raha hain, agreement ho raha hain. Kab se ho raha hain? Jaise Vitta Mantri ji ne bataya to sun ke laga ki abhi yeh sarkar aane ke bad suru huwa hain. Aisa nahi hain. Aisa agreement humara kayi deshon se pehle se hi hain. 70 se jada deshon se hamara saath agreement hain ki kala dhan ke baarein mein sara information dega humko.
Switzerland, Swiss Bank to sabse zyada charchit hain. Hum jab chote the us samay se sunte the Swiss Bank mein kala dhan jama karte hain Hindustan ke kuch log. Aj main budha ho gaya hoon, abhi bhi sun raha hoon ki Swiss Bank mein kala dhan hain. Now the question is, yeh Swiss Bank ka charcha pehle se huwa, bohut dino se hum sune Swiss Bank, list bhi nikla.
Ab sab chup ho gaya, shant ho gaya, koi Swiss Bank ka naara nahi lagate hain, jab udhar baithte the har roz naara lagate the, aur ajkal chup ho gaye hain. Kyun chup ho gaye? Swiss Bank ke saath humara DTA Treaty sign huwa tha October 2011 mein. Jab ki UPA satta mein the yeh log nahi the. Ab yeh log to shant hain, dhai saal kya kar rahe hain? Switzerland se information la ke sabko kyun nahi pakda? Yeh sawal aaj paida hoti hain. Ye santon ka sarkar hain. To yeh bhi jumla hain.
Panama Papers mein bohot report aaya hain. Uske pehle in February 2012, the CBI director said that, 500 billion USD worth of funds of Indians are stashed outside the country and stored in different tax havens and the experts say, major portion of the money has been laundered back into India through foreign investments. FDI badh raha hain. Aur yeh tax havens kahan kahan pe hain? Yeh sab jante hain.
Panama island a picturesque island, Sir. Hindustan ke bohot saare manyavar logon ka paisa wahaan pe jama huwa hain. Aur yeh jab nikala gaya, us se yeh pata chalta hain ki usmein 11.5 million documents unhone nikala aur unmein dekha jata hain ki 500 Indian nationals ka naam hain jo farzi account khol ke wahaan paisa jama kiya tha. Aur usmein hamare Bengal ki BJP ka Vice President ka bhi naam hain.
Mujhe maloom nahi hain ki woh legal roop se gaya ki illegal roop se gaya. Wo to sarkar ka kaam hain chhanbin karega, Lekin jaanch kyun nahi ho raha hain yeh? TMC ka leader logon ko pakdo aur jail mein bhejo, aitraaz nahi. Lekin santo ka sarkaar, aap log khamosh kyun hain Panama Papers ke baarein mein? Kuch to kijiye. Puchtach to kijiye kam se kam. Ye sab chal raha hain.
To yeh jo kala dhan ki awaaz uthaya gaya, demonetisation kiya gaya kala dhan ko pakadne ke liye yeh bhi ek chunawi jumla hain. Isliye ek paisa bhi kala dhan baramat nahi huwa, nahi hoga. Kyun ki yeh sarkar janta hain yeh bhi mile huwe hain. Mili bhagat hain yeh.
Sir, yeh demonetisation notification jo huwa hain, is mein bataya gaya, “the exercise of powers conferred under Section 26(2) of the RBI Act, 1934, government on the recommendation of Central Bank that is Reserve Bank have decided to declare the 500 rupees notes and 1000 rupees not to be legal tenders.”
The government has the power to do that;nobody can challenge. The objective, nobody can challenge. The legal way the government has issued the notification, nobody can challenge. But Sir, I have a newspaper – ‘Indian Express’ dated January 10 2017. It says and I quote only 2- 3 lines. “The government on November 7, 2016 advised the Reserve Bank that to mitigate the people’s problem of counterfeiting, terrorist financing black money the central board of the RBI may consider the withdrawal of the legal tender status of notes of high denominations.”
So it was the directive from the government to the RBI that you should discuss and decide and send the recommendations to the government. The provision of the acts says on the recommendations of the RBI the government can take the decisions. Pehle ghoda rahega uske picche gaari rahegi, godha ke phele gaari nahi rahegi; the cart cannot be placed before the horse .
Here the RBI has been subjugated it has acted on the distress of the government. RBI did not have any planning, RBI did not have any preparations, all of a sudden it was a bolt from the blue that the government asked the RBI to send their recommendations, provisions of the law does not say that.
And the next day it was surgical attack: surgical attack on the RBI, surgical attack on the legal framework, surgical attack on the people of the country and the honourable Supreme Court also remarked and observed it was not a surgical attack it was carpet bombing. As a result of which not only 135 people died from the shock and trauma but also millions of people abhi wo jo chalta firta murda hai. Woh workers informal sector ka, plantation labourers, MSME, chote vyapari sab barbaad ho gaye. Hindustan ka jo humara buniyaad hai informal sector ka, uss buniyadi dhancha ko barbaad kar diya.
Toh demonetisation ke bare meh meh ek aur bullet point bolna chahata hoon ki yeh jo limit laga diya hai humara bank account pe kiss kanoon ke aadhar par uss notification mein, uss bare mein koi ullekh nahi hai. Agar sarkar koi kadam uthathe hain toh woh notification mein bataya jaata hai ki kis kanoon ki kaunse pravdhan ke aadhar par yeh ceiling impose kiya gaya hai. Iss ka ullekh karna parega zarur agar ullekh nahi karte hai toh yeh speaking notification nahi hai aur iss liye yeh non speaking notification is illegal.
Vittya Mantri ji ne Rajya Sabha mein bataya that not for a single day there has been shortage of cash . Saara Hindustan chauk gaya. Vittya Mantri ji kya bol rahe hai hosh mein toh hai? Unhone bola hai ki ek din ke liye bhi koi currency crunch nahi tha matlab bankon mein saara paisa tha , ATM mein saara paisa tha. Phir kyun Hindustan ke karoron aadmi ko kataar meh khada rehna pada?
Ye sun ke ye jo 135 aadmi mar gaye aur kabar ke niche soye huye hai wo bhi jag jayenge aur bolenge, ‘kya bol rahe hai Vitta Mantri ji’. Chidambaram ji bata rahe the ki aaj bhi southern India me kitne ATM mein aaj bhi paisa nahi hai.
And they are talking about ‘Digital India’ Humara ATM khatam ho gaya lekin Paytm chalu ho gaya. Aur Paytm ke piche Alibaba hai, aur Alibaba ke sath 40 chor bhi hai. ATM chala gaya, Paytm chala aaya, itna paisa kama liya.
Jayalalitha ji ka ek hindi film tha – woh guzar gaye hai, mai unko shraddha karta hoon – ‘Izzat’, Dharmendra hero the, Rafi ji ka gaana tha, uska do line tha – ‘kya miliye in logo se jinki surat chupi rahe. Nakli chehra saamne aye, asli surat chupi rahe.’ Ye santo ka sarkar ke liye Md Rafi ji ka yeh gana ekdum sahi hai. Bilkul sahi hai.
Sir, para 13 me kavita sunaya tha Vitta Mantri ne – ‘iis more pe ghabrake na tham jayiye aap, jo baat nahi hai, use apnaiye aap. Darte hai nayi rahe me kyun chalne se, hum aage aage chalte hai, aayiye aap.’
Wah! Kya kavita sunaya hai Vitta Mantri ji ne.
Mujhe yaad aa raha hai ek sher, ‘wo samajta hai ki har shaks badal jaate hai, use lagta hai jamadar uske jaise hai.’
Sir, Budget ek serious document hai government ka. Para 21 me unhone kaha,’in last year’s Budget speech I focused on income security of farmers to double their income in 5 years’. Sawal uthta hai ki ek saal mein double hua kya?
2014 election manifesto mein BJP ne bola tha ki ‘agar hum satta me ayenge toh kisan ka labh double kar denge.’ Ye dhai saal me kitna double hua? Kitna bara? Sarkar ke taraf se kuch toh statistics Sadan me dijiye ki sarkar achha perform kar rahi hai aur chunav ka wada puri kar rahi hai.
Para 64 – 67 mein health ke bare me bataya gaya hai. The Union Budget of 2017-18 shows 23% increase in the allocation of healthcare. I congratulate the Finance Minister for increasing the allocation. But these figures are quite deceptive when you consider the overall picture. The budgetary increases are shown against the previous year’s figures and when you realize that the FM had initiated an unprecedented cut of 13% on the budget of 2015-16. It shows the hollowness of these apparent increases.
Para 83 is about privatization of railways.
Metro Rail Act will be enacted which will facilitate greater private participation and investment in construction and operation. East India Company ne 1861 mein jab railway introduce kiya tha, tab sarkar ke pas railway nahi tha. Bahut baad 1924 me sarkar ne railway company apnaya. Hamare sarkar metro rail se suruwat kar rahe hai privatization. Budget toh cheen liya, abhi Jaitley ji ki kripa se chalna parega hum sab ko. Toh Railway abhi privatization ho raha hai, metro se suruwat, uske baad sara rail chala jayega private ke haatho me. East India Company jo kiya tha, ghari ko waha piche le jaarahe hai. Thik hai, Sarkar ka rawaiya hai.
Sir, para 164 is about electoral funding.
Hamara party, Trinamool Congress, documentary evidence hai hamare paas, jabse paida hua hamara party, tabse ham chunav me lar rahe hai. Har election manifesto me hamara ye maang hai ki corruption ko hatane ke liye elections ka state funding through Election Commission hona chahiye. State funding hamara pehle se davi hai.
Abhi unhone kya kiya? 20 hazar ka limit tha, usko 2000 kar diya. Jo log Rs 19000 dikhata tha woh ab Rs 1900 dikhayega. Kya farak parega? Zyada sram dena parega, zyada time lagega. Ab bola bond, koi bhi bond kharido, usko ID dena parega. Kaun ayega aapka bond kharidne? Aur koi upper limit nahi hai. Kyun nahi hai? Cash aur cheque milake koi toh upper limit hona chahiye. Iska matlab ye hai ki jaise bade machli chhote machli ko kha jate hai, ye bade party, jo satta me hai, chhote party ko khane ka irada hai. Ye bhi ek jumla hai.
UP ka election madhe nazar rakhte hue ye sab elan kiya gaya hai. Ham chahte hai is par national debate ho. Sarkar national debate invite kare, sab party ko bulaye, public se opinion mange ki electoral reforms kaise kiya jaye.
Sir, main abhi khatam karna chahta hoon. Humare adarniye Pradhan Mantri ji China safar mein ek gaane ka line bola tha Indian diaspora ke ek samabesh mein. Unhone bola “dukh bhara din bite re bhaiya ab sukh aayo re”. Mujhe laga yeh maine kahaan suna. Yeh Mother India film ka gaana hai – 60 saal pehle ka film ka gaana hai. Woh do line ke baad bhi ek line hai. Ek aham line jo Modi ji ne nahi bola: “Aaj toh jee bhar nach re pagal, kal na jane ka hoye”.
Modi ji ko yeh antara ka line yaad hai kya? “Aaj toh jee bhar nach re pagal, kal na jane ka hoye”.
