By Ashish Wagh
It’s a saadesaati as it’s called in the Maharashtra region in Marathi, where either you win if Lord Shani is happy or you lose, if he is not. The seventh budget present by Finance Minister Ms Nirmala Sitharaman is nothing but a half hand-shake. It displays the helplessness of the government she is representing.
I saw her televised speech. Nirmala Mam had only one agenda...to speak against the now most feared Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi. Her eyes were blurr when she served another plate of lies for India. Budget 2024 comes out as a call back to the losses in terms of voters. The next calling of Jharkhand, New Delhi, Haryana and Maharashtra Assembly elections is clearly on her mind. Appeasement politics is not new to any political party and BJP has learnt that from the Congress. Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, the two States which added 28 Lok Sabha seats to the NDA will be a happy lot. To get an ell in South India, the FM did consider Tamilnadu for few doles, prime reason being that she belongs to the State.
Did Nirmala Mam address the issues of the common man? Not yet. After imposing GST, there is actually nothing left to pull the tax payer’s brief (underwear) down.
A panipuri vendor in Mumbai or a golgappa seller earns 5k everyday. FM has taxed his thoughts, not just his earnings. No respite on income tax! We earn for the government to dole out largesses.
Capitalising on the growth of mobile phones, the FM spoke about promoting the startup ecosystem which contributes to India’s GDP. The new Capital gains tax structure will have discouraging results as a large number of investors will now think twice before investing.
Nothing great on employment for the youth, upgrade of banking services to the hinterland. It’s a matter of shame that India ranks first in having the highest number of youth, most of them unemployed or unemployable. It is debatable how a 5 year period to “boost” jobs will help. Again, a political move.
Most important is the industry that creates jobs. It is supposed to respond positively time and time again whether it likes the budget or not. It’s response is directly linked to its growth. Anything negative and it’s an invitation for trouble by the high and mighty politicos.
It is a great characteristic of political bigwigs like Nirmala Sitharaman. They have presumed the right to talk off their nose.