Sudip Bandyopadhyay speaks on The Supplementary Demands for Grants for 2017-18

Posted on August 1, 2017 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

FULL TRANSCRIPT

Hon Deputy Speaker Sir, the discussion is not on General Budget; it is limited within the supplementary proposals and so the scope of discussion on this Budget is not enough. But there are some key issues which I feel must be discussed and I expect a response from Hon Jaitley ji also.

In the Supplementary Demands for Grants, Government is asking for an additional financial support of Rs 11,166 crore for 2017-18. Along with that they are also asking for Demands for Excess Grants for the year 2014-2015. Both the issues have been taken up together. Out of this Rs 11,166 crore, the Hon Minister has categorically clarified which areas he is going to utilise this amount for expenditure.

Rs 7,000 crore would go to the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry, for providing additional Grants in Aid (general) for payment of differential royalty to the State Governments, for GST. Rs 386 crore would be spent for activities related to the Goods and Services Taxes, GST; Around Rs 250 crore would be used for publicity of GST and Rs 99.3 crore for digitisation for payment of advanced user charges of GST Network. Again an amount of Rs 37.09 crore would be spent for accounting of GST. So, it is easily understandable because GST has been newly introduced, the Government is asking GST-oriented supplementary demand.

I want to say a few things about these points. Two major issues had been announced by the Government – demonetisation and GST. In the last Winter Session, Sir, I proactively took part in debates and discussions on demonetisation in the Parliament; everyday we raised this issue. We being a regional political party we had our separate views, we never opposed the idea of demonetisation or even GST.

Demonetisation was an issue we extended our full support to but with some riders. We advocated a go-slow approach. We advised the Government not to ban both Rs 1000 and Rs 500 notes together but go about it slowly.

Parliament session was held from November 16, 2016, to December 16, 2016, and after that I could not take part in the General Budget discussion because in the meantime I was arrested in the first week of January and sent away to jail custody. For long time I was in jail and was looking for an opportunity to speak on Arun Jaitley Ji’s Budget. I take this opportunity to speak on the Supplementary Demand for Grants to ask the Government what are the good effects of demonetisation.

After demonetisation was implemented, what good signals has the nation received in the economic arena? What is the effect of the dramatic pronouncement of GST in the Central Hall of Parliament at midnight? It was not responded by all political parties. It was a decision taken by the Government.

What I feel, Sir, is that demonetisation has not risen to the level of expectation which Government intended. Small and medium businesses are not happy with GST; even in the textile industry. In my Parliamentary Constituency of Kolkata Uttar, there is the Chamber of Trade and Textile Industry; they are frantically trying to pursue me to communicate to Hon FM that their matter be taken care of sympathy and the decision to impose 5 per cent GST on textile be withdrawn.

I want to put on record here that this Supplementary Demands for Grants, which the Minister is asking for, will be passed and this will be taken up as per constitutional norms. Then the Appropriation Bill will come; it will also be passed. Then the Government will start its operation.

Here, I want to dwell on the issue of cooperative federalism. Sir, after independence we have seen that the eastern region – Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Assam – were the worst victims of regional imbalances of economy. These States have been neglected in economic development. Maharashtra grew, Gujarat grew, but not the States in the eastern region. We suffer a lot. We have become the victims of regional imbalances and we should be provided with special economic packages and funds.

In our State, in particular, one party ruled for a long time. For 34 years. And the State actually become economically bankrupt. The present Government had to carry a huge debt burden. From the very beginning our State Government made an appeal and it was once decided Bengal, Kerala and Punjab will be given special packages. But nothing has been implemented. We are repeatedly asking for that.

Bengal Government is highlighting a few of its good projects. One of these projects is the Kanyashree scheme.Two days back Maneka Ji was here. She said in the ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ scheme that the Government of India had launched, Kolkata was performing the worst. We do not accept this project because it has a budget of only Rs 100 crore the Kanyashree scheme has a budget of Rs 1000 crore; this project has been acknowledged by the United Nations. Mamata Banerjee has received an award for the Kanyashree project just two months back in Netherlands. I would like to request the Government of India to accept proposals from different State Governments for the welfare and benefit of the common people.

Sir, now I would like to speak regarding the excess grants for 2014-2015 – safety funds for the railways. I would like to request Mr Arun Jaitley that our Railway Standing Committee has submitted a very good report on the safety and security of railways; so please go through it and the excess money which was spent in 2014-2015, has already been granted. You can accept it in that way.

Sir, I hope these two issues will be taken care of – demonetisation and GST. I want to hear from the Government about the good effects of demonetisation after its implementation.

GST has been implemented. We do not oppose the idea of GST; Dr Amit Mitra was the Chairman of the Empowered Committee of Finance Ministers for GST. He has very positively put across the ideas and suggestions of Bengal Government for the guidance of the Centre. He also spoke about the agony of the States; we are the worst sufferers.

The federal structure of the country must be respected in its proper spirit. Just like Modi Ji is an elected Prime Minister – and we have accepted that – a Chief Minister of a State is also elected with the support of the people. So why should the Centre and the State always fight each other and be in a warring mood? Why should I be afraid that if I criticise the Government, I may be taken into task? These assurance have to be categorically given from the Government.

Parliament is the temple of democracy; it is the forum where different political parties must coexist with their own idea, own faith, own belief. If objective criticism is done, I think that is to be taken with faith, love and with all humility and pride. I hope that the Finance Minister will certainly look after the problems of the different States, which are suffering a lot in different ways.

There is nothing to oppose in the Supplementary Demands for Grants that the Finance Minister has placed. We extend our support.

Thank you.

Saugata Roy speaks on Supplementary Demand for Grants (General Budget)

Posted on March 20, 2017 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

FULL TRANSCRIPT

Thank you Sir. This is the third batch of supplementary demands; there are altogether 75 demands and three grants in this. Total Supplementary Demand is roughly Rs 11.34 lakh crore. Out of this Rs 14,000 crore are the actual outgoes of the government. The rest is known as the Actual Supplementary Demands. There is also something known as Technical Supplementary Demands for Grants – that is Rs 11.20 lakh crore – where the change in allocations is made by savings or extra income in the department itself. And thirdly there is a token Supplementary Demands for Grants where Rs 1 lakh is allotted to every department. This year the total Budget is Rs 21 lakh crore. So if Rs 14,000 crore is extra outgo in the former Supplementary Demands, one cannot really quarrel with that. So, we do not oppose the Supplementary Demands for Grants.

Having said that let me make a few points about the economics. I do not think that the victory (of ruling party in recent polls) proves that demonetisation is a very good step. May be the PM is a good salesman; he has sold demonetisation as a thing between rich and the poor. But demonetisation has hobbled our economy permanently.

And if actual figures are placed then you will see that the rate of GDP growth has suffered. India has a peculiar matter in which statistics of GDP growth as given by the government does not seem to be genuine. Till today (of course March is not complete) we do not have the figures of GDP growth for the year 2016-17. Many economists are of the impression that growth rate of GDP should fall to at least 6.5% if not lower. So economy is not as hunky dory as it seems.

Small industries and units have been crushed and millions of artisans and workers have suffered. In Bengal, 81 lakh people have been hit by demonetisation. Who they vote for is not important but the fact is that the economy has suffered. After the Rabi crop comes out we shall know how much we have suffered due to demonetisation.

In Bengal Budget, our Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has allocated special funds for people who are affected by demonetisation. She has also allocated Rs 100 crore for the farmers hit by demonetisation. Unfortunately, in the Supplementary Demands, there is no scope for compensating any of the people – farmers or, artisans – who have been affected by demonetisation.

Today that farmers’ suicide continues to be a big problem in the country and this number will be more in future. As you know Sir, several States are reeling under drought. Where has the Government granted any extra money for those who are hit by drought? The Government has said that they will double the income of farmers in five years. The rate at which the farmers are committing suicide, I do not think the situation will improve. If you notice, Sir, that in five years, agriculture’s contribution to GDP has fallen whereas a large number of people – almost 75% people – are dependent on agriculture. Agriculture’s contribution to GDP has fallen to 25%. It may fall even more. This agrarian distress has not been covered by the Government.

Sir, the Budget, on which I spoke earlier, has been a series of gimmicks and slogans. You moved the Budget date to February 1, you incorporated the Rail Budget into the General Budget. How does it help the Economy? These are all just technical showpieces. Where has the economy got the muscles? I want to cite some figures about the situation.

The rate of growth, if we say Gross Value Added, in manufacturing for 2015-16, was 9.3%. In 2016-17 it came down to 7.4%.

In construction it was 3.9% (2015-16) and it has fallen to 2.9% (2016-17) in trade, hotel, transport and construction.

Growth rate in service related to broadcasting was 9% (2015-16); it has fallen to 6% (2016-17).

In financial, insurance, real estate and professional services, it was 10.3% (2015-16); it has fallen to 9% (2016-17).

So, in Hamlet, as it was said, “All is not well in the State of Denmark”, I am saying something is rotten in the state of the economy. Not enough is being done to correct that. Throughout the world, when economists see statistics coming from China, they say it is not believable. The way this government is giving statistics, soon we will have a reputation like China – that our statistics are not reliable. This is a problem.

Sir, I understood that they could have taken as much money as they wanted if they only implemented Universal Basic Income, which was an idea proposed in the Economic Survey. They have not given Universal Basic Income. They have given a token increase to MGNREGA. But the condition of the rural masses in India still remain very bad.

I have already mentioned how the rate of growth has fallen. May I mention, where is the investment? They are giving slogans like ‘Make In India’, ‘Stand Up India, Startup India’, ‘Swachh Bharat’ etc. But where is the actual investment in the industry? I want the actual figures (that are never available from the government) of the actual investments in 2016-17. The fact is that industrial investment is not rising; we have only slogans.

Sir, I want to make a point on black money; it is not being recovered. Till today, we do not know how much black money was recovered post demonetisation. We do not even know how much money was deposited in the banks between November 8 and December 31, 2016. We are in the dark. Sir, we do not know how much black money has been recovered from abroad. We do not know if people will get Rs 15 lakh in their bank accounts. This is a black spot in the Indian economy.

Since this is the Supplementary Demand for Grants, there is no mention about the banking sector. The banking sector in India is rotting. Rs 8 lakh crore worth of Non-Performing Assets is there. Was demonetisation done to fill up the coffers of the banks so that they have money to give to big industrialists?

Sir, as I said earlier, nobody opposes Supplementary Demand for Grants. These are money already already spent. So, I support the Supplementary Demand for Grants. But I once again sound a word of caution to the government that all in not well in the economy of India.

Thank you.

BJP got billions of rupees from unknown sources: Trinamool Congress

Posted on February 2, 2017 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

Trinamool Congress today alleged that BJP collected billions of rupees from “unknown sources” and is now preaching about electoral reforms.

Party’s chief national spokesperson Derek O’Brien also said the Narendra Modi government’s decision to cap donations to political parties at Rs 2,000 will not solve anything. “You want electoral reforms & you bring down the minimum figure from 20,000 rupees to 2000. Won’t solve anything. Who you kidding?” he tweeted.

“And look who is preaching about electoral reforms? The party that has already picked up billions from “unknown sources,” the party’s leader in Rajya Sabha said.

On the Railway Budget, he said the “grand design” to merge it with the General Budget turned out to be a damp squib. “This will damage the very core of the transport system,” he said.

অজানা সুত্র থেকে বিজেপি কোটি কোটি টাকা পেয়েছেঃ তৃনমূল কংগ্রেস

রাজনৈতিক দলের নগদ অনুদানের ঊর্ধ্বসীমা ২০ হাজার টাকা থেকে কমিয়ে ২ হাজার টাকা করার যে সিদ্ধান্ত কাল অর্থমন্ত্রী বাজেটে ঘোষণা করলেন, তাকে কটাক্ষ করলো তৃনমূল কংগ্রেস।

তৃনমূল কংগ্রেস এর পক্ষ থেকে জাতীয় মুখপাত্র ডেরেক ও’ব্রায়েন বলেন সরকারের এই সিদ্ধান্তে কোনও সমাধান হবে না। তিনি টুইট করে বলেন, “আপনারা নির্বাচনী সংস্কার চান, তাই নগদ অনুদানের সীমা ২০ হাজার থেকে কমিয়ে ২ হাজার করেছেন। কিন্তু, এতে কিছু সমাধান হবে না। কাদের বোকা বানাচ্ছেন?”

ডেরেক, যিনি রাজ্যসভায় তৃণমূলের পরিষদীয় দলনেতা, বলেন, “যে দল (বিজেপি) ‘অজানা সুত্র’ থেকে কোটি কোটি টাকা পেয়েছে তারা এখন ‘নির্বাচনী সংস্কারের’ বানী শোনাচ্ছে”।

সাধারণ বাজেটের সঙ্গে রেল বাজেটের সংযুক্তিকরণকেও কটাক্ষ করেন তিনি। বলেন, সরকরের ‘মহান পরিকল্পনা’ পুরো মাঠে মারা গেল। এই পদক্ষেপের ফলে পরিবহণ ক্ষেত্রের ক্ষতি হবে।”

Sugata Bose speaks during discussion on Budget (General) 2015-2016 | Transcript

Posted on March 17, 2015 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

Full transcript:

Madam, I hope my good friend Jayant Sinha has told the Hon’ble Finance Minister, how much he was missed last Friday and how eagerly we have been awaiting his return from the UK. We recognise he had gone there for a historic occasion.

We cannot forget and even we are prepared to forgive what Winston Churchill had said about Mahatma Gandhi in 1931. It was a very proud moment for all Indians to see our Finance Minister standing next to the current Conservative Prime Minister of Britain as he paid tribute to the Father of our Nation, the man whom Churchill had described as a fakir and whose simple attire he had mocked, stands tall today in London’s Parliament Square.

Mr Arun Jaitley, who is yet to arrive in the House, has a charming old world quality about him. I am reminded of the 1980s whenever he pronounces on economic matters, which he invariably does with great conviction. I had spent that unfortunate decade in Thatcher’s Britain and Regan’s America. Mr Jaitley still clings to reignite dogma. believing that the tax cuts of the rich will somehow spur economic growth.

The best research in economics in the last three decades exploded that myth. The Finance Minister has issued a promissory note, regarding the lowering of the corporate tax rate from 30% to 25% and abolished the wealth tax.

My esteemed colleague Mr Saugata Roy has already pointed out that it requires no financial wizardry, to figure out his shift from direct taxes to indirect taxes is highly regressive.

I am glad that our Finance Minister has become less dogmatic in one respect namely in his tendency to fetishize the need to reduce the fiscal deficit at a fast pace. His right to have given himself more time, three years rather than two, in his effort to draw down the fiscal deficit to 3% of GDP.

The Prime Minister must have whispered in his ear, I have recently visited Japan and seeing the wonders of Abenomics which is better than Reganomic. Our economy needs the stimulus of greater public spending, particularly in social sectors to quicken the pace of growth rather than any unnecessary tightening of the fiscal belt.

I would urge the Finance Minister not to worry too much about the fiscal deficit, so long as he can bring it down below the 4% mark next year and then steadily move towards his target. Has the Finance Minister truly embraced the States as equal partners in the country’s developments, as he claimed? Despite the rhetoric about cooperative federalism, the record here is decidedly mixed. The marginal increase in the state’s share of revenue resources has come courtesy of the Finance Commission, not through the largess of this Government.

We are glad that the proceeds of the Coal Auctions will benefit the resource-rich yet poverty-stricken Easter states and there are one or two incentives tucked away in the Budget that might help attract fresh investments to the states. Yet the abolition of the Planning Commission does not board well for the future of federalism. The Chief Ministers Conclave under the aegis of the newfangled NITI Ayog can aspire to be no more than a talking shop. The key economic decisions regarding allocations are being centralised under the Finance Ministry.

I do not doubt the sincerity of the Finance Minister’s wish, for his Government to be intellectually honest. Yet, the talks about federalism and acts to centralise, speaks of humility and behaves arrogantly.

Our commitments to farmers run deep, the Finance Minister claimed in his Budget Speech. It runs so deep that the Government has railroaded the Land Acquisition Bill through the Lok Sabha that does away the need to take consent of the farmers while looting their fertile, even multicrop lands to gift away to its corporate friends.

What is Jan Dhan, Madam Speaker? The Government is proud of their Jan Dhan Yojana that has created over 12 Crore bank accounts, mostly zero balance bank accounts. Yet, feels no shame in taking away Jan Dhan, which in India’s villages mostly takes the form of small parcels of land of peasants.

Speaking on the Budget last year, I had said that our future developments has to be built on three pillars: Infrastructure, Education and Health. I commend the Finance Minister once more for committing public funds to infrastructure projects even though the funds may clogged up if the infrastructure projects are not implemented fast.

I must express my deep disappointment again at the utter neglect of education, especially school education and public health. Spending on flagship projects on education like the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan has suffered severe cuts. The ritual of announcing a few new IITs, IIMs and AIIMS – like institutions will do little to achieve excellence in the field of higher education.

In the spirit of cooperative federalism, I urge the Finance Minister to support the most promising state universities.

And the fun fare over the Swachch Bharat Aviyan is masking the Government’s unwillingness to admit the public health crisis looming across the country. It should be done on a war footing.

To conclude, Madam Speaker, a Finance Minister’s Budget Speech brought cheer to a handful of billionaires in our country. Having listened to the Opposition, I hope his reply today will offer something that might warm the hearts of a billion ordinary Indians. The amirs can take care of themselves, please look after the interest of the fakirs of India.

Thank you.